Chidinma’s day did not get any better.
After the scene in the parking garage, she spent the rest of the morning in a state of near-panic, her ex-husband’s threats about taking Nonso from her running through her mind. After she had finalized her divorce, Nonso was the only thing that had kept her sane. He was her reason for labouring through medical school and becoming a success at her career. Her son was her motivation and her reason for striving so hard. Without him, she felt she would truly have nothing to live for.
“It’s just an empty threat. He won’t take Ben from you.” Onyeka tried to reassure her when they reached her office, rightly guessing what was on her mind. He could almost feel the fear coming off her in waves. “It’s just an underhanded tactic to scare you into doing what he wants. Don’t let him get to you like this. You’ve been shaking all morning.”
Chidinma knew Onyeka meant well, but his reassurances merely slid off her like water on a duck’s back. “I know Ben doesn’t truly want custody of our son. It would interfere with his carefree, partying, jet-setting lifestyle; a teenage boy would be too much baggage. But just to spite me, he can go ahead to take Nonso away from me.” Her eyes were filled with fear as she looked at Onyeka, and his heart twisted. “He would just dump my boy with his paternal grandmother in the East. I don’t even want to think about how that will ruin Nonso’s life.”
Onyeka pulled her into his arms, wiling some strength into her as he pressed her gently against his chest. “Hey, it won’t come to that, okay? We’ll tackle this issue of the adult woman in Nonso’s life and then we will also deal with Ben.”
Chidinma smiled bitterly. “Deal with Ben? You don’t know my husband at all. He is rich, with a lot of resources at his beck and call. And he can be very vindictive. I’ve just been lucky to stay off his radar all this while, but now that he has his sights set on me again…”
“Set on you again?” Onyeka frowned. A sudden feeling of jealousy filled him. “You think he wants you back?”
Chidinma scoffed. “I think I’m too old for him now.” The word ‘old’ made her self-conscious. “And that brings me to something else. You keep saying ‘we’. Onyeka, there’s no ‘we’ here.”
“Not yet.” Onyeka quipped trying to keep his tone light, but Chidinma’s expression sobered him up.
“There’s a lot happening now, Onyeka. This stuff with Nonso, and now this. I don’t think I need the distraction of a relationship in my life right now.”
Onyeka felt anxious. He had not gotten to know Chidinma as well as he would have liked, but the little he knew was enough for him to want her as a part of his life. He did not want a good thing to end before it started. His earlier life had been rough and stupid, but in Chidinma, he hoped to find redemption and something real. There was no denying the physical chemistry between them, but he already felt something deeper than that.
He held her arms gently. “I know you’re under a lot of stress now, but I think you should still give ‘us’ a chance. And I’m not talking about an occasional kiss here. I’m talking about…”
“What? A relationship?” Chidinma said her voice rich with sarcasm. “You want me to be your girlfriend? Hmm? Would you be comfortable taking me out on a date, having an older woman on your arm?”
“Yes.” Onyeka said firmly. “It’s not a problem at all…”
“Because you don’t care about the age or because I look young enough to be passed off as someone younger?” Chidinma knew her tone was growing bitter, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Okay, let’s say we get serious and become a thing. What happens when your friends and family find out my real age? Would you be able to bear the snide remarks and gossiping that would go on behind us? Would your dear mother welcome an old woman into her son’s life?”
Onyeka’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lashing out at the wrong person, Chidinma.”
“Well, I think you need to hear it anyway.” Chidinma said stubbornly. She raised an arm when he started to talk again. “Just… go. Think about it. You’ll see I’m making sense.”
Onyeka moved towards her office door after a brief hesitation. “Fine. I’ll go. But there’s nothing to think about. I know what I want.”
The look he gave her before he left was enough to make Chidinma’s knees melt, but she held on to the edge of her office table and watched him go, chin up.
She needed to be strong, and with Onyeka round her she felt weakened by desire. Right now her priority was Nonso.
Something had to be done.
**
When Chidinma got home, she already had a plan laid out. She would talk to her son and convince him, with reason, that what he felt for the mysterious woman was mere infatuation. She had to convince him to see things her way. And she had to do it delicately.
Nonso had arrived home before her and she moved quietly past his room, planning to change out of her work clothes before calling him out for a heartfelt talk. But her steps faltered as she walked past his bedroom door.
For a moment she thought she had heard voices. And one was female.
She paused and took a couple of steps back, her eyes going wide. She had not been mistaken. There was a female voice coming out of her son’s bedroom. Despite her earlier peaceful intentions, anger flared up in her.
Could Nonso have had the temerity to bring his woman crush into her house?!
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