A Twisted Christmas

Chapter 4

It was never an easy task to get some alone time with Dylan. He was uptight and did everything by the book. If he wasn't informed about a task beforehand, he wouldn't do it. He wasn't a man who enjoyed surprises or unexpected twists and events. Tola often wondered how he handled moments of emergencies. Furthermore, Dylan was never one to get overly emotional or clingy. He was a charming gentleman who did what was necessary and never overdid anything. Tola liked him because he never tried to push or pressure her. He was comfortable. He was safe. But sometimes, she wished he was more attentive. She wished he would do the little things or go the extra miles, like sending random flowers to her office or opening the door for her when she got out of the car. But no—Dylan was none of those things. Still, he was good man.

“Hey, love,” his gruff voice said as he picked up the call. Tola could hear the stress in his tone.

“Hey,” she responded. “How are you today? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“I’m sorry. Things at the hospital have been really hectic. Seems like all the women chose November to give birth.” He groaned.

“I’m sorry. But you knew what you signed up for when you decided to be a gynecologist.”

“I did.”

“Hmm.” Tola paused. This was when he was supposed to ask about her day. But Dylan has never passed this test.

“Oh, I wanted to tell you something,” he chirped up. “There’s a Christmas celebration at the family house we hold every year. We move there for the month of December to spend some family time together.”

“Oh…okay?”

“Well, she wants you to come,” he said.

"Who?"

"My mother. She insists I bring you over."

Tola’s heart sank. An entire month with Dylan’s family would have been a good thing, especially since his mum personally asked for her presence. But someone else would be there. Someone she wanted nothing to do with. Not now, at least.

“Well, I may be required at home,” she lied, hoping it would sell. But Dylan knew her father was still at the barracks. He was a general nearing retirement. Dylan also knew she didn’t get along well with her aunt—Ronke’s mom.

“By who? Your dad’s still at the barracks. Or will you be visiting your aunt?”

“No. No," she gave a sigh of defeat. "Okay, I’ll come. It’ll be fun,” she smiled lightly.

“Alright. So next week is the first. Get ready. I’ll pick you up, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Alright. Goodbye, gorgeous,” he said, cutting the call immediately. He never asked about her day or even waited for her to say goodbye.

That was a surprising turn of events. It wasn’t how she wanted the conversation to go.

Looking around, she laid her head on the desk. It had been a slow day at the hospital, just the way she liked it. The sound of an incoming notification on her phone made her look up. Scrolling through it, she saw a news alert: Popstar ‘Myst’ spotted in his hometown in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Tola groaned, shutting the phone. She couldn’t even go a day without seeing his stupid face. His face. His stupidly handsome face. Against her will, she clicked on the notification, scrolling through the news article but stopping on Muna’s picture.

There he was, leaning against a Dodge Challenger, wearing a pink shirt with the top three buttons undone, revealing his defined chest. His white dress pants were neatly ironed, and he wore white Nikes to match. Black shades shielded his eyes from the sun, while diamond-studded earrings glittered as he typed away on his phone. It looked like he wasn’t aware when the picture was taken, yet somehow he managed to look stunning. From the background, she could tell he was at the shopping mall three streets away from Tola’s hospital. He was so close.

Tola found herself staring at him before she switched off the phone, running her palms over her face. What was she doing?