By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu
The next day, Michael turned the scene of his proposing to Chioma into a romantic image, blowing the photo into huge posters and popping them up in major shopping centres.
In an instant, Chioma’s phone almost exploded with calls from various people. Some wanted to know where exactly she was in Lagos, others wanted to know if she would get back to Michael. Most reporters wanted them to appear on their newspaper and magazine front covers or have them interviewed together.
Chioma didn’t know that her engagement that happened a few weeks ago would create such a stir now that she had ended it. So, she pulled out her phone to have a look. She didn’t know that that scene would today have about ten billion comments, likes and shares. The photo was able to stir up deep emotions within the viewers. Just a glance at the photo gave satisfaction and happiness.
This was the message Michael wanted to convey; that his love for Chioma would be the kind that would surpass the love story of Romeo and Juliet. He wasn’t going to let any other man have his woman. He wasn’t going to accept defeat.
Chioma read a few of the online comments and found out that everyone was full of praise, despite the fact that most of them still hated her for Michael.
‘Michael seems to have complete trust and is full of love for you,’ Andrew spoke to Chioma when she came to his workshop to pick empty bottles. ‘The photo is shockingly beautiful, so beautiful that it made everyone breathless…’
Chioma blushed, not knowing what to say.
‘Chioma I didn’t know that you have a thing with Michael Njemanze who has a king-like dominance,’ one of the mechanics excitedly said. ‘Your love story has become the hottest topic. As for Jessica, her name would be mentioned when being ridiculed. Very soon Jessica’s fans would abandon her on the side of the road…’
At Star Restaurant, there were a whole bunch of Jessica’s fans outside waiting for Chioma’s appearance as well as her apology. The building was completely surrounded.
Emeka leaned against the counter as he observed Julia’s attack on Chisom. He immediately asked, ‘Julia, do you own this building?’
‘I’m not talking to you, I am talking to Chisom. You don’t have the right to interfere,’ Julia released her anger on Emeka, gesturing that her words should not be challenged. ‘If Chioma had simply left without hurting Jessica, then things would not have turned out this way. I am sure that Chioma got her scheming mind from her mother.’
‘And you got your feisty temperament from your father,’ Chisom retorted. ‘Julia, don’t you think that you should stop supporting Jessica because you will never have Nathan. Nathan will never love you, that’s the pure fact.’
‘Chisom, I am not stupid, you don’t need to spout nonsense before me.’
Chisom looked at Julia with ridicule. She never expected that Julia will be very stupid.
‘Julia…’ Emeka warned her with a deep voice. ‘If you will come to my restaurant to cause trouble, I will have the police throw you out.’
Julia pointed at Emeka and warned, ‘Even if you summon the police, they would never do anything to me.’
Emeka didn’t want to argue with her. He needed to deal with the people outside his restaurant that have come to cause trouble.
‘There is no need to stand around. The person that you are looking for isn’t here,’ Emeka calmly said to them.
‘We won’t listen to you. And who are you to stop us? Our Jessica loves Michael since childhood and we all have been expecting a happy-ever-after from them. How dare that cheap slut use demolition to seek her personal interest. I wonder why she would be so scheming,’ Jessica’s fans angrily spoke as expected.
‘How could this slummy girl play love rival with our goddess.’
‘Chioma is despicable. We want her to leave Michael for Jessica or else we will fight.’
‘She even took ten million naira from Aunt Patricia. How could she blackmail Michael’s mother to give her such a huge amount. Is she so desperate to live a luxury life?’
‘Our Jessica has suffered so much. This time we can’t let that slummy girl off the hook so easily.’
Hearing what the fans are saying, Chisom contacted Chioma and told her everything. She wondered how Chioma would handle the situation. She wanted Chioma to be strong and never let the pressure from Jessica’s fans make her lose Michael for good.
Julia’s lips curved into ridicule when she came out. She looked into Emeka’s eyes and said, ‘If you don’t solve the problem with these people, then don’t even think of calling yourself a man.’
Emeka knew that Julia wanted to take advantage of the situation to embarrass him, thus making him lose his customers.
Upon hearing these words, any small restaurant owner would of course panic, for fear of losing his customers. But Emeka smiled and looked at Julia mockingly, then back to the people. ‘If loving someone poor is a crime, then I want you to curse at Emmanuel Nnaji who married his wife when she was a lowly writer. If loving someone is a crime I want you to throw stones at President Obinna who married his wife when she was a class room teacher.’
Emeka paused to look at their reactions, seeing how surprised they looked, he gave a slight sigh, then continued, ‘Only a few persons know this truth while majority live with the illusion that Rebecca came from a very rich and powerful family. Her parents were civil servants who went back to the village during the farming season to do some farm work along with my own parents. But now, Rebecca has workers who do the farm work for her parents, that’s because she married rich, and not because she was born into money. I know about Rebecca because we came from the same village… I know you can’t do anything to the president’s wife and to Jessica’s mum because they are now powerful… Yes, Chioma lives in slummy area, but does that mean she don’t deserve love from a man like Michael Njemanze? You forgot that she is a graduate and might have the opportunity to become a CEO just like Michael,’ he paused. ‘Most of you here, your parents married poor but today they are rich. Some powerful men in the world married poor girls who today have been transformed…nobody considers them poor anymore. Why is Chioma treated differently to other girls? Even if we all know that Michael only had a rumoured relationship with Jessica, you still chose to overlook the truth an attack Chioma instead. Even if you know deep down your hearts that Chioma is an innocent girl, you still went ahead to latch on and refuse to let her have peace of mind. On top of everything, the rumours would easily be turned into a scandal and be brought up time and time again.’
Every one of them just listened like students in the class, without interrupting Emeka as he spoke.
‘Why can’t any of you see that Michael is with Chioma because he loves her very much and not because he has money to spend on her…Well, if any of you single ladies don’t like it that Chioma got blessed by GOD, may you never find happiness and may your happiness be snatched away from you. But I still wish that you should stop already. Jessica is from a very rich family because her father married poor Rebecca and transformed her into a rich queen, and together they birthed Jessica and blessed her with luxury,’ he paused again and continued after a while. ‘What if Rebecca married a poor man? Maybe Jessica would have been a slummy girl, right? Michael knows that marrying her would boost the business, but he still rejected her over and over again…I don’t need to explain further but I believe that sometimes you need your tongue to count your teeth and not your hand.’ With that Emeka turned and left, leaving them speechless.
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