Lola blushed. Peter was complimenting her looks. It was their 6th month dating anniversary, and things had been progressing quite well. Peter was different. Mature, humble and introverted. Lola had always thought she would end up with someone who matched her personality, ambitious and sometimes feisty. There was something about his character that made her fall in love. Opposites do attract. Lola was grateful that Peter had a relationship with God because it was evident in how he handled things. She never for once regretted turning Brother John down. Lola sighed at the thought of his name. John. He was arrogant and self-centred. He never asked her what God was saying about him. He assumed they were compatible because he claimed to have seen it in a vision. She didn’t have an issue with that; what annoyed her was his way of communicating it, telling everyone in church that she was his wife, chasing potential suitors away. Lola remembered how she left the church one day and never looked back. Yes, it was harsh, but she was uncomfortable in such an environment, which began affecting her relationship with God. Everyone was calling her John’s wife. She could barely say anything without someone teasing her about him. The last straw was when her Pastor reported to her parents, painting her in a bad light. She was thankful she had sensible parents, and after a heated discussion, they agreed she needed to leave the church. She had told her mum about Peter. However, her mum was not entirely convinced because he was from a different tribe. John was from her tribe, funny enough, but she was far too sane to end up with someone like him.
“What are you thinking about?” Peter interrupted her thoughts. “See me hyping you, and you are giving me a straight face. Ihe niile ọ dị mma? ” He asked in his local dialect.
“I am fine; sorry, I just drifted off briefly. But I was smiling before now.” Lola had started to pick up on some Igbo phrases.
“Okay, oh. I have something to tell you, though.” He leaned closer. They were at a restaurant.
Lola’s phone vibrated. She looked at the caller ID. “It’s Chioma. Please, can I take this?” She gave him puppy eyes, and he laughed while nodding.
“Hello birthday girl! I have called you many times today, but you haven’t picked up my call. Is that how it is now? You are now a celebrity; someone cannot talk to you again.”
“Lola, there is a problem, please check the group chat. Are you free?” Chioma sounded anxious.
“Problem ke? What happened? I am out with Peter. You know it’s our six-month anniversary.” Lola immediately swiped to their friend group chat to see lots of messages. Her friends had been chatting about something, and Jola had renamed the group. ‘Hakeem is back’.
“Ah! back as in?” Lola stood up.
“Can you do a group call? I don’t have time, but he has asked me to meet him tomorrow at 4pm. I need to know what I am doing to reschedule some of my meetings.” Chioma sounded desperate.
Lola knew that Chioma would not call if it wasn’t an emergency. She whispered to Peter and told him that they needed to leave. Peter immediately called for the bill, and they walked to the car.
“Ahan Lola, see how pretty you look!” Tife teased as soon as Lola joined the group video call.
“Please, let’s focus. Kilosele? Why are you meeting him by 4 p.m.? What about Melvin?” Lola threw questions at Chioma.
“He has my pictures, and he is threatening to release them if I don’t meet him,” Chioma explained. She was still at the office waiting for Melvin to pick her up, but he was running late.
“You need to tell Melvin,” Tife said clearly. “You owe him that much. Things could get ugly; this is not something to joke with.”
“I don’t know how he is going to take it. How will I tell him that another man from my past is threatening to post nude pictures of me online? We are getting married. This could end things for us.”
“The same way you just told us, but in a more sensitive way,” Tife replied
“I am thinking about negotiating, maybe paying him off. There has to be something that he needs. Ah! I am in trouble!”
“Chioma, calm down. You are not in trouble, in Jesus’ name. Plus, you are not going to see that rubbish guy. How many pictures does he have?” Lola asked. Peter was driving, and she had her AirPods on.
“I don’t know, it was two or three I sent him directly. My head is just spinning now.” she packed her hair to the back and switched off the lights, she didn’t want to draw attention to herself.
“Lola, don’t come for me oh, but of what importance is the number of pictures?” Jola asked.
“I am just thinking. Maybe she can post them herself and take the leverage away from him after telling Melvin, of course.”
“What? I should post it?” Chioma was shocked.
“Wait, let’s all calm down. We need to be careful. We are all on the same page, that she needs to tell Melvin first. Chioma, the reason you are telling Melvin is because he is the one likely to get the worst hit from this. He is the closest person to you. He is your husband-to-be, not just your boyfriend, and you guys are getting married in a few months. Melvin must not hear it from someone or somewhere else. Do not fall into Hakeem’s trap.” Tife advised.
“Okay, what if I tell Melvin, and he cannot handle it. What if he gets cold feet and calls the wedding off?”
“Because of an ordinary picture? He should calm down, abeg. People have done worse. He is sha a child of God. You do your own, and God will do the rest,” Lola said. She hated it when people took advantage of others. She was a strong advocate for women speaking up for themselves.
“What does Melvin know about Hakeem in the first place?” Jola asked. She was sensitive herself, so she was trying not to further upset Chioma, and she knew it was not just an ordinary picture. Not everyone was as thick skinned as Lola.
“Um, he knows we dated in the past and ended things. He knows Hakeem was irresponsible, and so was I at the time, but he doesn’t know about the pictures.”
“That is not bad; you can start from there. At least he knows about him.” Jola responded
“I am so scared. So what happens after he finds out? What do we do then?”
“That’s between you and Melvin. Chi, your fears are valid. I know being in your position is difficult, but you know Melvin better than any of us. You know how to talk to him about difficult situations, you know what to do when he is angry. Most importantly, you have the Holy Spirit; he has the Holy Spirit. Pray about it. See, in this life, power is what we need. The devil wants to capitalize on this issue. Yes, you made a mistake, but it could happen to anyone, and how you handle this can determine a lot for you both. Melvin is very mature and would handle this well by God’s grace. Let’s just continue praying.” Tife said.
“Thank you so much; I am sorry to lay all of these on you people. This thing just spoilt my day. I no even fit concentrate for work. Person tag me for birthday post today on instagram, I kon go instagram see plenty mentions. I think say the picture don leak, I forget say na my birthday cef.” Chioma switched to pidgin.
“Awww sorry.” Jola consoled her friend. “Just tell Melvin, pray before you tell him and let God handle it.”
“Okay, I will. Thank you, guys! I appreciate you all. Happy anniversary Lola. Tell Peter I am sorry for interrupting your night.”
