BE MINE EVEN AFTER DEATH

Episode 2

EPISODE TWO

Mr. Okon was in the same cult as Mr. Kalu back in their university days. They were very, very close, and when the leader of their cult was assassinated in a shootout on campus, Kalu was unanimously elected to become the new leader. Since Okon was his bosom pal, he was naturally made second in command. Together, they made may exploits, the majority of which were evil and wicked. So, it was both a surprise and a pleasure for Kalu when he found out that he and his old pal, Okon, were now working in the same company.

Back in their university cultist days, Okon had been fiercely loyal to Kalu. In fact, he had been one of the people that Kalu had been sending to harass Damilola when she jilted him. When she finally fled UNILAG and moved to UNICAL, they both promised retribution whenever and wherever they met her again. Now they had.

So, they had now decided that it was payback time for Damilola. Poor, innocent Damilola. She had done them no harm. All she did was love and sacrifice for Kalu for all those precious years. Kalu, on the other hand, had been wicked and selfish to her. He had simply been using her and taking advantage of her naivety and selfless love for him. For Kalu, Dami was his property, and he believed that no matter what he did, she had to remain with him. He believed it was his right to own her.

That explained why Kalu was very crossed when she left him. Compounding on her leaving, she went further to leave town and changed school. For many years, he plotted his revenge because he still felt betrayed, though he had no right to feel that way.

When Tunde was newly transferred to the branch where he worked, he got into Tunde’s office and found the picture of a woman who had a striking resemblance to Dami. Sneakily, he made inquiries and was told that the woman’s name was indeed Damilola. Still, he didn’t rush to make conclusions that the woman in the picture on Tunde’s table, who was now obviously his wife, was also the same Dami who had been his lover. In order to find out, he had to visit Tunde’s house. A master pretender that he was, he was in no hurry to make a visit. He didn’t want to draw any iota of suspicion unto himself. So, he took his time.

However, he made sure to warm up to Tunde, and that is why he kept inviting him to outings. He was trying to be a good guy and at the same time hurting Tunde’s marriage. The evil genius in him had already told him that Tunde, because he grew up in a rich home, was not street smart and, hence, was very trusting. He took full advantage of it, and it worked like magic.

Tunde himself had now invited him to his house, and he had been able to confirm with his own two eyes that Tunde was indeed married to his own Damilola. As soon as he confirmed it, a sudden feeling of wild hatred and jealousy took over his entire system. He, however, kept his composure and demeanour normal just to avoid suspicion.

Now, he had told Okon, and they had decided that it was time to pay back Damilola for deserting him so unceremoniously and for having the temerity to marry someone else.

“So, what do we do now?” Kalu asked. “Should we just go ahead and kill him? One shot can settle it all. Then, I can get back my beloved Dami.”

“That is illusory, Kalu.” Okon replied. “You can never get Dami back even if Tunde dies. I am sure you know how much she hates you now. Also, you are a married man now, with kids.”

“That is true. So, we should just let them go like that? There will be no closure for me until she pays.”

“No, Kalu. That is not what I mean. I have a plan. My plan is to make them destroy each other. We will do it in such a way that our consciences wouldn’t bother us. We would use Tunde’s greatest flaw, which is naivety and trustworthiness to deal with him.”

“Alright.” Kalu agreed. “Let’s run at a measured pace, then.”

That morning, when Tunde came to work, he made it his personal business to avoid Kalu just like his wife had warned him. But Kalu wouldn’t let him. When he got into his office, Kalu waited for a few minutes for him to settle down, then he knocked and entered.

“Good morning, Tunde. You seem upset today. Is something bothering you?”

“No, nothing at all. I just seem to be in a pensive mood this morning.” Tunde replied.

“Alright, how is your beautiful wife, Damilola?”

“Kalu, why did you ask about my wife?” Tunde was getting angry.

“Nothing, I am just showing concern.”

“Concern? On another person’s wife. Listen here, Mr. Man. I know you and my wife had a history. She has told me about everything and how evil you were to her after all the sacrifices she made to you. So, the best you can do for her now is to back off.”

“Oh! So, Dami told you all the bad things I did to her? She didn’t tell you all the good times we had, especially the s*x, the numerous times we had it, how sweet she was and how she moaned under me going on her knees and begging for more?” He laughed.

“You dare say that about my wife, you evil man.” Tunde had lost it.

He rushed to where Kalu was standing, pulling him roughly by his neck, knocking him against the wall twice, and gave him a punch that sent him flying across the room. Kalu was shocked and hurt. He hadn’t anticipated that Tunde, whom he had generally considered to be mild-tempered, was going to be so impulsive as to react so violently. As he got up from the ground, still reeling in pains and wiping his body, Tunde warned him.

“I hope that serves as a warning to you, Kalu. Now, I have seen that you are an evil man. If you ever come after me and my wife, Damilola again and I find you, I will kill you just to prove to you how protective I can be of my family, i***t. Now, get out of my office.”

“Tunde, you dare put your hands on me?” Kalu was still in shock.

“I will repeat it, Kalu. So, if you know what is good for you, leave my office now. It is not my fault that you lost a good woman when you had the chance. You are married now to a woman who loves you in spite of your evil ways. Be contented with her and make her happy. Stop dwelling in the past. Damilola is now my wife, and nothing is going to change that.”

“Tunde!!”

“Yes, it is me.”

“Alright, we will see. If I were you, I would watch my back, yours and your wife’s because I won’t forget you both. I won’t forget you both, ever.”

In anger, disgrace, and frustration, Kalu burst into Okon’s office. He had come to update him on the recent developments. Okon, who was quietly working on his computer and minding his own business, almost jumped out of his skin when Kalu burst in.

“Now, what is the matter, my friend?” Okon asked.

“Can you imagine that Tunde had the guts to throw hands at me.” He fumed.

“What? Did he do that? When and where?” Okon was a bit amused.

“Just a few minutes ago, right there in his office. Can you imagine? Oh! How things have changed. If it was me in those days, me Kalu, ahhh! I would have planted him with the daisies. But I will definitely get him. I will get him.”

“Calm down, Kalu. But what did you go to do in his office this early morning?” Okon was still finding the whole thing amusing.

“To greet him.”

“And…”

“Well, to ask about his wife.”

“Did you have to go ask about his wife? You should curb your open obsession with his wife. She is never coming back to you. Now, see what has happened to you. You have to be level-headed so that we can concentrate on what we have set out to do. Now, you have alienated him. That makes things more difficult for us.” Okon spoke.

“That is true. I got carried away. So, now that he and I are no longer in talking terms. What do we do.”

“This is where I come in. Let me handle him. You, on the other hand, should concentrate on his wife. You have to try to contact her just to cause trouble. I know you do not have her number, but you can try to contact her on Messenger.”

“How do I contact her on Messenger?” Kalu asked. “We are not even friends on f*******:.

“Write to her nevertheless. Use a fake name. The message will still appear in her inbox, and she will be asked if she wants to reply to the message. Out of curiosity, she will. Carry on from there.”

“What if she blocks me as soon as she realizes that it is me?”

“She will inform you before blocking you. Beg her not to. Tell her that you were just trying to make peace after what happened in the office today with her husband. Then, once she calms down, you know what to do.”

“Alright, I will do my best.”

That same day, after work, Tunde went home and narrated everything to his wife. She was very happy that, for once, someone had put Kalu in his right place. However, she was still wary of him and begged her husband to henceforth, always stay on his blindside. As they were talking, a message got into her phone. It was from Messenger. It seemed to have come from a handsome and rich-looking young man.

“Hi, beautiful!!” The message read.

“Just to let you know, I am a married woman. So, you can’t call me that.” She replied.

“Well, the fact that you are a married woman doesn’t stop you from fraternizing, right?” The person asked.

“It does. Now, I am going to block you, and please, never contact me again.”

“Please, don’t go. It’s me, Kalu. Sorry for using a fake name and a fake picture. I was afraid that you weren’t going to talk to me if you knew that I was the one.”

“What?” Dami was shocked. “You devil!! What are you doing in my inbox?”

“I am sorry. I just want you to apologize to your husband on my behalf after what happened today at the office. I am sure he must have told you by now.”

“Yes, he has, and to be honest, you got what you deserved.”

“I know, and I am sorry about that. However, Damilola, how have you been? You left without saying goodbye. You left a huge vacuum in my heart.”

“First and foremost, it is ‘Mrs. Tunde’ for you. Secondly, you got everything you deserved. Now, I have to go. Please, don’t ever contact me again. If you do, I will have no option but to tell my husband. I don’t need to remind you what he can do. Bye.”

“Not so fast, Mrs. Tunde.” Kalu quickly wrote. “I have something for you.”

“And what might that be?”

“It’s a video, and it is still uploading. Just be patient, please.”

A few minutes later, the video finished uploading, and Dami clicked on it. It was a video of both of them while they were still young. They were in the shower, and they were making love. Damilola was shocked.

“Jesus Christ, Kalu. How come you still keep such videos?” Dami asked.

“Google Photos, babe.”

“Don’t you ever call me that. Anyway, why are you sending me the video now?”

“I am just trying to remind you about our old times, all the good times that we had.”

“Well, all that is in the past now. I don’t feel anything anymore for you. I am a married woman now. All that I did was out of love. Now, delete the video immediately, or are you trying to blackmail me?”

“No, I am not blackmailing you. However, I don’t think your husband will be happy to see his wife passionately making love to another man.”

“It’s in the past, Kalu. It will create no effect.”

“Really? No man wants to see his wife sleeping with another man, even if it happened before they got married. It would seriously affect his libido for his wife, especially as in the video you are giving me so passionately with reckless abandon. Imagine your husband hearing you telling me to grind you harder. It will shatter him.”

“I don’t care, but what is your reason for doing this?” Dami asked.

“I want you one more time, Dami, my love. Just one more time for old time’s sake, and I will delete the video, and you will never hear from me again.”

“You evil, man!! Get behind me, Satan.”

“Yes, I would really love to get behind you. I know how you enjoy it from behind. So, when are we meeting. I promise your husband would never find out. It would remain our little secret. Just one more time, Damilola.”

“Devil!! I don’t care what you do with the video. Get lost, and for your information, I will be blocking you after this chat.”

“Alright, I, too, will be sending the video to your husband after this chat.”

“Do your worst, Kalu.”

She blocked him.

TO BE CONTINUED…