I wake up with an urge to pee. Trying to get out of the bed proves futile with the arm around my waist. I push the blanket off, my fingertips run up and down Paul's arm in hopes to wake him but the bundle of muscles only tightens his grip on my small frame. Under a different circumstance, I might have found this funny or cute but my bladders are threatening to explode.

"Paul." My lips move to his ear. "Babe."

Out of ideas, I proceed to lick his lips and his eyelids flutter open. I forget about my body's need as I stare into his brown eyes clouded with sleep and he flashes me a smile. He blinks, some of the confusion clears and I shiver as the bedcover is pulled off completely when Paul stretches.

"I want to pee," I tell him when his arm returns to my waist. He nods, his lips move into a pout and I start shaking my head. "No, no kissing. I have morning breath."

His face falls, I let out a defeated sigh and peck him on the lips before rushing out of the room amidst his protest for another kiss. A giggle escapes me as I lower myself onto the toilet seat and massage my cheeks, they ache from smiling too much but I can't think to be any other way around him except glad and high-spirited. He makes me happy and his excitement for more of my kisses has my heart melting in a pool of affection. We should have started sooner.

I finish my business, brush my teeth and spend the next few seconds in front of the mirror checking myself out. I know he has seen me barefaced but I still want to look my best when wearing his T-Shirt with nothing else underneath. The plan was to finish what we started during the day but other things had to get in the way. My nipples harden at the thought and my eyes shut briefly as an image of his mouth closing over them flashes through my mind.

A throbbing starts between my legs, using my hand to fan myself, I let out a low whistle as I am reminded of the feel of his palms and mouth on my body. His fingers slipping in and out of my wetness with ease. Those hands are suited for more than kitchen work, they are efficient and experienced in matters of female anatomy and should be included in his résumé.

Placing my hands on the sink, I stare at my reflection and sigh, we are yet to have sex but I know what those hands and plump lips are capable of. I don't know why or what's holding him back. He is taking things slow, too slow for what I am used to.

I yank the durag off my head, I can already picture myself posing with it in my mom's jeans and crop top. Thanks to it, the top of my hair is still laid back. I sprinkle water on my baby hairs, pretend it's gel as I twirl a strand around my finger and lay the edges.

Water drips from the curtain separating the bathtub from the toilet, I eye the heater. Paul was still on his phone when I got back to the room, I slept off to his grunts and forced replies to the person on the other end. He must have forgotten to turn it off after bathing. Pressing my legs together, a wistful moan escapes me, I had pictured us doing so many naughty things in the shower but his call had eaten up all the time.

After a final check in the mirror, I saunter out of the bathroom to the kitchen. As the boss, I can take today off again and also grant him a pass. But it won't speak well of our new relationship and I don't want the gossip mill I tried so hard to avoid in Madiba to start here. My first stop is his fridge, maybe I can prepare breakfast for us so we can go to work together. I giggle.

Skipping the frozen meals in Tupperware, I bristle with excitement as my eyes land on the carrots, green peas on the last layer of the fridge. Spaghetti here I come, the only food anyone close to me will let me cook on my own. It's my forte. Well, I can also make pap and smooth swallow of any kind but I will need a volunteer to make the soup.

A quick trip to his store, I return with a pack of spaghetti. I jam my hands together, the smile on my face spreading as I retrieve a pot. This will be good, right? Right. I am the greatest spaghetti maker of my time. I rub my hands on my shirt, the jitters from trying to cook for a professional chef finally making an appearance. What if he doesn't like it? I hush the negative thoughts, he must like it, he will like it. He has to like it.

Everything I need is laid out on the counter, I take a deep breath, put a pot of water on the cooker and start chopping carrots but with less grace and speed as Paul. He's the professional, not me. A noise from one of the room catches my attention, my ears perk and my hands still on the board. Paul said the other rooms are empty but he has plans for them, none of which includes the noise emanating from it. I resume cutting, ignoring the sound of things being moved around until I can't take it any longer.

Curiosity gets the best of me, I turn off the cooker and tiptoe to the front of the room. The door is slightly ajar and my eyes dart between it and Paul's room wondering if it's a good idea to go in without him. I don't let myself think too much about it before pushing the door open and the sight of the lady backing me knocks out my breath.

"Udo." Only one person calls him by that name but I refuse to believe the fair figure with only a towel wrapped around her chest is her. "I have told you to always knock before entering. I was dressing up," she spins to face me, "what if I was nak-"

The rest of her words die on her lips as our eyes clash, my hand tightens on the knob, I stagger backwards and scream, "Babe." My eyes refuse to leave hers, my body goes rigid. I can't move. When she starts towards me, I scream, "Stay away. Paul."

Paul rushes out of his room, the first thing he does is scan my body for any sign of injury and peck my forehead. His action causes me to relax slightly but it doesn't stop the thoughts running wild in my head. What is she doing here? Is she stalking him? Us? I will myself to talk but I remain tongue-tied, my eyes dart towards the room, hoping for Paul to follow the movement and he does. But his reaction is the opposite of everything I expect and it breaks my heart.

"You didn't tell me you were coming over," he directs at Chi who comes into view but in a proper outfit. I scoff, she even has clothes here too, did he also buy them for her? Is that one of his tactics? "Next time, call me."

At his utterance, I cannot stop my eyes from rounding to saucers, he is talking about a next time like her presence here is normal. Is that all he has to say? A mild warning? He is acting as if I am not here. Both of them. Even this Chi who claims to be my best friend, gave me her blessings to date him.

"Maybe if you had bothered to check your phone you would have seen my missed calls," she responds in the same heated tone and with a hint of annoyance. "See, I was locked out and I came here to change, I'll be leaving in no time. Ignore me, thank you."

Wow. My brain finally sends a signal to my feet, I take a step away from the bantering couple. What was I thinking by coming in between them? I am the outsider here and it was stupid of me to think they can be best friends without any strings attached. Holding my head in my palms, I scoff, he lied to me. He lied to my face, he said the rooms were empty. Empty. And here she is.

Paul tries to stop me from leaving, I raise a hand to keep the distance between us. "This is not her first time coming here." My heart begins to thump, I am afraid to hear the answer to my question. "Right?"

Chi is the one who volunteers an answer, "Right." Her tone irritates me further when she adds, "I have my own room. This one."

Another bombshell. I look to Paul but he doesn't bother to deny it. My voice grows cold when I say, "I was not talking to you."

She looks taken aback by my words, I scoff, she should be glad I am being on my best behaviour. I will not fight with her over a man who can't even say a word in his defence and I am done trying to excuse him.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have answered that."

"Yeah," I say with a nod. "Maybe that's why you got locked out of your house because you don't know how to mind your fucking business." Paul tries to stop me when I subconsciously take a step towards her and I slap his hands away from me. His filthy self can have her now, I am done with him but I am not done with her. Not yet. I have one last question to ask, "Is your boyfriend even real? Or is he a made-up story so you two can fuck each other without me getting suspicious?" My brows raise. "Is that it?"

"Pauline!"

"Forget it," I mutter and wave her off with a sinister smile. "I don't care. You are fired."

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly and glare daggers at her with my eyes daring her to challenge me. I spare Paul a glance, he looks away. None of them says a word like I half-expect but his silence cuts through me the most and I walk out before I hurl any more harsh words. Now they have all the privacy needed to kiss and make up.

How dare she act offended? She's the one in my boyfriend, no, ex-boyfriend, she's the one in his house acting like she owns the stupid place after making it clear she has no romantic interest in him. I hit myself on the forehead repeatedly. Stupid. Stupid me. I am so gullible, I bought everything she told me because we are friends and look what I get in return, a half baked apology: Sorry.

Locking the door of his room behind me, I run my fingers through my face, maybe firing her is extreme. Or not. The only thing extreme in this situation is the confidence with which she addressed me after barging in here to ruin a beautiful moment. To ruin us.

"You didn't tell her?" I hear Chi ask Paul.

No response comes after her question, I roll my eyes, I don't care what they have to say. They can use that information to find a job elsewhere because Paul is also getting fired. If I have my way, he will be blacklisted from other companies. That's what cheats and lying bastards like him deserve. To think he gave me a hard time for kissing King, made me miserable for sleeping with another man while I was single. And I thought we had something. Yeah, lust. Fickle attraction.

Ripping his shirt off my body, I let out a frustrated sigh when I realise my panties is in the bathroom, I can't leave it here. I don't want to have anything to do with this place once I leave. My phone pings, I retrieve the mobile device from my bag. With a heavy heart and shaky hands, I text Chi to help me with my lingerie. I can go back to ignoring her after, we have nothing to say to each other.

The time on my phone screen reads 7:45, a minute passes and she knocks. I open the door when I am certain she is coming in alone and place a finger against my lips to hush her before she starts talking. I don't want to hear it, all she has done since we met is lie, defend him over and over again.

"Pauline, I'm sorry."

"It's Madam to you," I say before it occurs to me she is not my staff anymore and so, she can call me whatever name of her choice.

Clearing my throat, I ignore the look of hurt that crosses her face and shake my head. I am the one who's hurting, I am the one who should be giving her that look. Instead, I put one leg into my trouser while she watches me quietly with her fingers in her hair.

She is pretty. Paul is handsome. They will make a power couple. Since she's almost the same height as me, it will be easier for him to spoon her, that's if he already doesn't. A thought hits me, I raise my head and stare at her. If Paul was in bed with me all night, it means she has the spare keys to his place.

Knowing this does little or nothing to ease my heartache. Questions plague my mind but I don't ask, I don't want to hear any more lies from them. They had their chance. No, chances. What I need to do is put on my clothes and leave before I am fed more lies.

"Get out of my way," I say to Chi who stands in front of the door, arms spread out to stop me from leaving. I close my eyes, open them and add, "Please. Let me pass."

Uncertainty swirls in her eyes, she puts her hands over the doorknob. "I can't, not until you listen to me." My eyes lower to her hands, yes, she can, if she takes two steps to the right I will be out of here in no time. A sigh escapes me when she makes no move to step out of my way. I have no idea who is stronger between us and I don't want to find out. "Please. Spare me one minute."

For old times sake, one last chance. I sigh. "Fine. One minute." She nods. "After that, I'll leave. You won't stop me, are we clear?"

She nods again and wrings her fingers. Her nose scrunches in that familiar way it does when she's stressing on what to say and I cock my head to the side, indicating for her to go on. I don't have all morning. She clears her throat, I take a long look at my wristwatch and start counting down.

"I don't know what is going on in your mind or what he told you but Paul is my brother." My eyes widen, I burst out laughing but she continues, "I thought he will tell you or you will figure it out yourself since we-"

"Figure it out myself?" I manage to voice out. "Are you okay?" My hands jam together mockingly, wonders will never cease. "Do you think I am stupid? Of all the lies, Paul is your brother?" Her head bobs, I scoff, she is not joking. "Born of the same mother?" She nods again. "Miss Udochi, I don't have time for this rubbish. Please get out of my way."

But she stands her ground. "Pauline, please. It's quite complicated." She tries to reach for my hand but my glare stops her. "He made me promise not to tell you. I swear it killed me to lie you. I... I..." She sighs. "Seeing your car outside, I assumed he already told you," she pauses. "I'm sorry. It's fine if you don't want me working with you anymore but I don't want you to leave here thinking we are a couple. We are not. We are siblings."

Minutes pass but I am too rigid to move. I try not to think of the similarities starting to show and close my eyes. Whatever the case may be, they both lied to me. And for what?

"Okay." She must have been expecting more from me because her lips move into a fake smile. "Anything else I need to know?"

Her head moves left and right. "No, nothing else." Seconds pass, she murmurs, "Please talk to him." Oh, I will. How else will he know he's fired? I nod, offering her a close-lipped smile and she takes it as a cue to offer further explanation, "Paul has a hard time opening up to people. Hear him out."

"Good. I am not people, I am," I shake my head, "was. I was his girlfriend." Her smile disappears and I roll my eyes. "Not people."

Giving her a pat on her shoulders, I ask her to move. Things don't work this way, if he is sorry, let him speak for himself. Isn't he tired of hiding? Or running away from his problems? I can't keep doing this, it hurts too much and it has become a painful cycle.

"Please. Hear him out."

"I don't want to talk or see him now," I reply and turn the knob. "One more thing, friends don't keep secrets from each other."

Without waiting for her reply, I step out and brace myself to face Paul who looks up from his position on the floor at the sound of the door opening. My heart lurches in my ribcage when he comes to stand in front of me with his hands stiff by his side and I will myself to stay strong. He broke us apart.

I think back to our first date, all the times he could have told me they were siblings but chose to keep it a secret. We talked about family yesterday, siblings and he still kept mute about it. He knew how much it worried me to think of Chi as only his best friend. But I guess he's right, it's so easy to mess with me. Those words echo in my head, drowning all logical thoughts and I nod, it's time for me to grow a thicker skin.

"Ifunaya."

"Don't call me that," I retort. "You are fired."

As expected, he is calm, his reaction is a simple nod and I ball my hands into a fist.

"Okay. But can we at least talk?" He makes to touch me, I flinch and his hands drop to his side. "Please. I care about you too, don't let this get in the way of our happiness. Ify, we can fix this. Let's sit and talk about it."

"No. We are done talking." I adjust my bag. "You, your secrecy and need to always hurt me got in the way of our happiness." I take a deep breath to keep my nerves in check. "I have run out of second chances with you, we are done. I'm tired. No more talking."

Taking one last look at his handsome face to imprint it in my memory, I turn around without another glance at him and stalk to my car. We are done. Honking like a maniac until the gateman opens up, I drive out of his compound with full speed like a crazed woman. Maybe that's what I have been reduced to: A crazed woman. Months of thinking your secret competitor is your boyfriend's best friend only to find out they are siblings is enough to do that to anyone.

Are his feelings for me even real?

Since it's a Saturday morning, the estate is quiet as I drive through the near-empty street. I stop in front of my house and let out a string of curses for my lack of a gateman, tempted to sit in the car rather than do the necessary. Logic wins, I get out, unlock the gate and drive in without stepping out.

Banging my head against the steering wheel, I will myself not to cry. Not to think of him or his betrayal. I don't need a man, I am a big girl and big girls don't cry. Never.

Big girls cry when their hearts are breaking.

Sia lied, this big girl won't cry. She won't. A sound between a choke and a sob escapes me. Okay. Maybe she will but only for a little while. I sniff and wipe furiously at the tears that leak from the corner of my eyes. I am not crying because of him. Never. I am crying because of my poor choices in men.

Releasing a deep breath, I make my way out of the car when I am certain I am in better control of my emotions. Today will have to be another off-day for me. Bending over to pick my bag from the passenger's seat, I don't get to straighten up when something is pressed against the side of my stomach.

"Don't. Move." I shiver at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, his breath fans my neck and my handbag drops to the floor. I attempt to get a glimpse of his face, maybe we can sort this big misunderstanding out when he intensifies the pressure to my side, pushing me forward. "Smile. Walk slowly."

The thought of a gun pressing to my side grips me with fear and I am unable to move until he repeats his instruction, his voice so low it sends chills down my body. I nod. It's simple. Smile, walk slowly. I can do that.

We start walking in short strides to a tinted Range Rover parked a few metres from my house and I blame Paul all over again for this mishap. I would have seen the car if I wasn't hung up over my feelings for him, I would have noticed someone closing the gate. I try to stall, my eyes scan the lifeless street for help that is not forthcoming.

His arm sneaks around my waist, I heave and bite my tongue to stop from throwing up. I struggle in his hold but the reminder of the object in his hand is enough to keep me moving. To the outsiders, we look like a new couple who can't get their hands off each other and I hate it. We reach the car, he opens the back door and someone drags me inside before I can utter a word.

When the shock wears off, a gag is in my mouth and I have already been blindfolded. The whole thing happens so fast, a part of me feels like I am daydreaming. This isn't real, right? Paul is still cuddling me but I am having a bad dream. I will wake up in his arms, when I tell him about this nightmare, he will laugh and peck me on my forehead.

The car starts moving, my new reality dawns on me and I can only hope someone notices my absence quickly. For the first time since moving here, I wish I don't live in such a mind your business kind of estate.

**********

Picture: Adesua Etomi.

Questions:
° Did you see this coming?
° What happens next?
° Was she right to get so mad at Paul?

This chapter was as long as the previous one. Did you see what I did with Sia's song? I love Sia.

Vote. Comment. Tell a friend to tell a friend who tells another friend until the word is out.