Hello Guys♥️….I hope you are doing well. So…in the previous episode, Ade’s family and his best friend Ayomide met Astrid . His parents are not big fans of Astrid because she isn’t Nigerian. Ade on the other hand, after spending three long days with Astrid in Nigeria has fallen in love with her. Opulence episode 4… enjoy ?
Everything has changed
News went round Monday morning on campus, I thought I had kept it a secret. I didn’t know how people at school found out I took Astrid home to meet my family.
It was terrible, Astrid was attacked several times out of jealousy by some girls I was having casual sex with. Some went to the extent of hiring thugs, to hide from these thugs she had to go to Tiwa’s room.
They tagged her as a gold digger and a lot of other mean names.
She was surprised I was having sex with that many girls on campus.
That week, she avoided my calls and messages. I had to beg Tiwa to talk to her on my behalf before she agreed to see me.
I saw bruises on her arm but she tried to hide them from me.
“ Did the girls do this to you?” I asked
She didn’t answer.
“ Astrid please talk to me. I feel so bad, I hate to see you go through this” I pleaded.
“ I am not a gold digger. I don’t even know what I have done. I moved to this country for some peace but this is worse. I don’t feel safe Ademola. These girls that you are involved with, are very crazy. They send thugs in here at dawn to threaten me, just to teach me a lesson. What lesson though? To make me stay away from you? If that’s what they want, I would. ”
“ what are you saying Astrid?” I asked
“ you know what I am saying Ademola. We can do our project work from a distance. Right now, that’s the only thing that is keeping us together, so when we are done with it, I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with you. Please let your girlfriends know that, so they stop attacking me” she said sobbingly.
I wasn’t surprised she said that, she was scared and it was because of me so staying away from me would be her first line of thought.
If it were to be any other girl saying this, I wouldn’t mind her leaving, but this time it was Astrid. My heart was breaking, for the first time I was scared of losing someone. I pleaded with her to re-think her decision.
“What do you want from me Ademola? Your family hates me. I am not trying to steal you from anyone. I just want to finish school in peace ”
“ I caused this mess, please let me fix it. You staying away from me, would put you at risk, stay with me, and I would protect you. I would get you body guards and a new place where they wouldn’t dare trespass. For thugs to sneak up here at dawn,it’s obvious the security here is bad, ”
“ Ademola! You don’t know these thugs, they are powerful and dangerous. They know me now, it doesn’t matter where I move to. ”
“ I know more powerful and dangerous people who would make sure these thugs, don’t ever come close to you. You just have to trust me Astrid”
She was very scared, I knew, but she didn’t need to be.
She hugged me and cried so much in my arms,it got me very worried. Probably there was more to what she had told me, I wondered if the thugs sexually assaulted her.
“ Astrid are you okay? I am here. Please stop crying. Did these thugs do worse things than you are telling me?”
She shook her head and wiped her eyes.
“ No. I just remembered when I was with André and how scared I was. These constant threats and attacks reminded me of those times”
She had been through so much and she didn’t deserve this. I asked her to pack some clothes, she was going to stay with me until I arrange for her new apartment and her bodyguards.
She didn’t think it was a good idea but she decided to come with me. When she was calm, I went out to get us some food and also to see Janice, the one I knew was behind all the threats and attacks.
She used to harass Lauren sometimes.
Her room smelled like weed.
“ Janice, I know what you are doing with these other girls. Stop putting the idea of attacking Astrid into their heads. It is very ridiculous. Astrid has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with this. If these girls have a problem they should attack me. I was the one who had meaningless sex with them so they should deal with me and leave Astrid alone.
And you, I thought we were good? Where from all this hate and jealousy? I thought our break up was based on mutual understanding and respect”
Janice smiled and blew smoke out of her mouth.
“ I know Ade, but I want you back. And that Astrid or whatever she calls herself won’t stand in my way”
“ is that why you gathered all the girls I have slept with on campus to harass her? Do these girls even know that you are just using them for your selfish gain? How did you find these girls anyway? Do you have someone following me on campus who is showing you all the girls I am involved with or something? ”
She laughed.
“ That doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I have the girls and we are going to frustrate your little girlfriend out of this school. If I can’t have you, nobody else can”
“ Janice listen, I am being calm just because of old times sake but if I hear that anyone has attacked Astrid. I would finish you Janice! This whole school would be too small for the both of us. This is my final warning Janice. Grow up and stop this stupid and ridiculous lifestyle. Always putting fear into helpless people. Let me just hear that Astrid has been attacked again, you would see what I am capable of”
I heard her shouting and threatening me when I was leaving her room but she knew very well how powerful I was and that I didn’t make empty threats.
Astrid was playing my acoustic guitar when I got back. She was playing Taylor Swift’s song White Horse. She didn’t hear me walk in. The way she sang the lyrics to the song showed that she could really relate with it. I sat in the couch and watched her play. I knew the song reminded her of her life with her ex-fiancé André and the things she went through. When she was done playing, she opened her eyes and saw me. She smiled and walked to me.
” How long have you been sitting there?” she asked
I shrugged and she laughed.
She dropped the guitar and sat next to me. She picked up the bag of food I got. I didn’t know what she wanted to eat but I guessed almost everyone loves a good burger so I got us whopper from Burger King.
“ I didn’t know you played the guitar so well” I said
She smiled and picked up the guitar again.
” My aunt taught my sisters and I. I was about eight when I started playing. When she was really young, she wanted to be a musician but my grandparents were totally against it. She became a dentist but never let go of her music”
“ You know a lot of Taylor Swift I guess”
She laughed and nodded.
“Taylor Swift is one of her favourite artistes. So she taught us a lot of her songs. She likes Carrie Underwood too but we learnt a lot of Taylor Swift” she said still laughing.
I took the guitar from her and started to play Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran’s song “ Everything has changed”
“ You know this one?” I asked
She nodded and started to sing. We sang together and I loved her even more that night.
We ate, and played the guitar all night. I introduced her to some of my favourite artistes. We didn’t know when we both fell asleep in each other’s arms.
The next day Tiwa called to tell me that Astrid’s room has been ransacked. Janice wanted to make a statement that she wasn’t backing off.
I called a couple of my friends, Uche and Kojo to help me pack Astrid things from her room to my hostel. I told her what happened when we arrived but I assured her that I would protect her.
A week later, I found a two bedroom apartment for Astrid and I.
My uncle, Tiwa’s father, arranged for a couple of body guards for us. And they made sure to install lights all around the apartment.
Astrid felt safer and she was a lot calmer. I made sure my uncle and Tiwa never told my parents about whatever had happened over the weeks. The body guards followed us around on campus but at a distance. At this point, I didn’t care whatever people thought about Astrid and I on campus, all I wanted was to protect her.
Living together was pretty awkward. I noticed Astrid stayed in her room more and had little or nothing to say to me. I wondered if I had offended her.
I knocked on her door to check up on her.
She asked me to come in. She didn’t smile like she usually does.
“ are you going to stay in here all day? We can watch a movie or something”
She shook her head and looked the other way.
I sat on her bed and asked her what really the matter was.
She sighed.
“ I am okay. I just don’t want to be around you right now”
Her words hurt me.
“ why? Did something happen?”
“ No Ademola. Nothing happened. I just want to be alone” she said and turned away.
I left her room without saying another word. She stayed indoors the whole of the day, didn’t even come out to eat.
That evening I went out with a few of my friends but I couldn’t stop thinking about Astrid. I texted her but she read and didn’t reply.
When I got back, I saw that the lights were on in the kitchen. She was listening to music with her Airpods so she didn’t hear when I entered. She was startled when she saw me. I apologized for startling her.
She turned to leave me in the kitchen but I begged her to stay.
“ Astrid, what have I done or said? Just tell me and I would make it better”
“ Ademola, what do you want from me? We used to be strangers, then you found a way for us to work on our project together, then I go to Nigeria to meet your family and now suddenly we are living here together. Making people think that we are couple while we are not. Isn’t this moving a little fast and a little weird? What do you want from me ? Why are you doing this? Is it true what people say about you? That you sleep with so many women for some sort of spiritual bond to help your family stay rich? Am I your next victim?”
Her words hurt, so much, like she has just shot me.
“ what?!! What are you talking about? I am only trying to protect you Astrid”
“ I am in this mess because you have slept with a lot women. Why would these girls want to hurt me so badly if you hadn’t taken something precious from them when you slept with them? And why would you need to sleep with so many women anyway? If it’s not because of something more, like money and riches?
I have been to your home, your family is ridiculously rich and I doubt it’s only because of the legacy your grandfather left. There must be more. Did you plan all this just to corner me to get my blood for some ritual?”
I couldn’t believe those words were coming out of her mouth. She looked so upset, like she actually believed I was really in some sort of cult.
I knew I hadn’t lived a dignified life on campus but I wasn’t going to apologize to her for making mistakes like any other human being. And I certainly wasn’t going to apologize for coming from a wealthy family.
“ Everything I did, I did because I care about you Astrid. I do not know who is feeding you with these lies. But believe whatever it is you want.
You seriously think if I wanted your blood for some ritual, I would go through the trouble of taking you home, my real home to meet my father, mother and my two little sisters? Why? So they can give me some sort of approval before I use your blood for whatever ritual? You were with me at my house , I protected you from my family. They are my family, they should come first, but I stood up for you, so if you can stand here and believe I did all that because of some ritual, it’s very, very disappointing.
Fine, if you don’t want to be around me anymore, I would leave. I got this apartment, for you. I got the body guards, for you. I would leave you alone. I would send someone to get my stuff”
I left that night to Tiwa’s hostel, my heart was breaking.
My eyes were filled with tears when Tiwa opened her door, I cried like a child in her arms.
I was very hurt.
I told Tiwa everything and the first thing she wanted was for me to kick Astrid out of the apartment.
“ what has this girl done to you? You are even crying because of her. I have never seen you cry over any girl Ade. This is not healthy”
“ Can you and Uche go get my stuff from the apartment tomorrow ?” I asked
“ No way Ade. Never. That apartment is yours, you paid for it. If anyone should move out it should be Astrid.
Where are you going to go anyway? It’s late to find another hostel. Or pay for another apartment. No Ade. It’s going to be a waste of money even if you find a new apartment. You can stay here to clear your head for a couple of days but you are not moving out of that place. If you do, you would leave me with no choice, I would tell your parents”
“ Tiwa come on”
“ No Ade. No! Astrid had no right! She had no right to say that. Who does she think she is? And who did she think she was talking to. Honestly, I miss the time girls couldn’t talk to your face. Imagine the disrespect!”
Tiwa was very strong headed, the next day she went to the apartment to set things right with Astrid.
Tiwa insisted I moved back to the apartment but I didn’t want to see Astrid.
After days of being with Tiwa, I finally moved back to the apartment.
Astrid wasn’t around when I got there.
She arrived home very late, it made me wonder where she had gone to.
Early the next morning, Tiwa and some friends sent me photos of Astrid on a date with Kwaku Gambrah.
“No! Not this guy Astrid. Not Kwaku.” I thought to myself.
I now knew the person that was feeding Astrid with lies.
Kwaku and I have never seen eye to eye since first year, he is always finding ways of getting to me. I never bothered to find out what his problem with me really was. What bothered me was how and when he became friends with Astrid. I have been with Astrid a lot and I never saw him around her, not even once. I wanted to confront Astrid right away but I didn’t want her knowing that I knew about them. She saw me eating breakfast by the dining table when she came out of her room that morning.
She walked to me to try and apologise but I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t even know what she was apologizing for, she wasn’t sorry. She never called or texted once when I was at Tiwa’s but wanted to apologise because she saw that I was back.
I left her by the dining table before she could say anything.
We didn’t talk to each other for months, she went out a lot and I always got photos of where she has been. Tiwa still insisted I moved her out of my apartment.
“ Ade, it’s obvious she is dating that Kwaku guy. From the photos we receive these days, we know she has been to his hostel. Why don’t we make it easy for them to be together? Let her move out so she can move in with her boyfriend. After all, she did say she doesn’t want to be your next victim. I don’t know why she is still there after accusing you of being a ritualist”
I didn’t want Astrid to be with Kwaku and I certainly wasn’t going to make it easy for them.
“ Tiwa I know you are upset but I don’t want us to act irrationally. Kwaku is just with Astrid to spite me I just need to talk to Astrid”
“ what are you going to say?”
“ I would let you know” I said and ended the call.
I got an email of a design she had made for our project work. I checked and replied.
I went knocking on her door after I sent the email.
She opened the door and just stared at me.
“ Are you not going to ask me in?”
She shook her head. She had changed so much, gotten very mean. She felt like every other girl I have known, there was nothing special about her anymore. I nodded and said whatever I had to say at the door, when I was done, I saw Kwaku coming out of her bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist.
I was furious, he had stayed the night here and I had no idea.
“ Astrid. Is this a joke?! You brought him in here?”
“This is my room Ade, I can do whatever I want in my room”
Kwaku chuckled when Astrid finished talking and went back into the bathroom.
I wanted to strangle them. It was in that moment I realised I had made a mistake by falling and trusting a girl. I packed a bag and moved in with my friend Uche, I was disgusted by them. Tiwa found out I had moved out and was so upset, I had never seen her that upset. She stopped speaking to me.
One evening, I was studying in the library when Tiwa called me. I was so happy to see her name on my phone.
“ where are you Ade?”
“ I am in the library. Why?” I asked excitedly.
“ Astrid is hurt. I came to ask her to leave your apartment and I found her beaten up. We are in the hospital now”
“ what do you mean by beaten up? Where are the bodyguards?”
“ stop asking questions Ade and get here soon”
See you guys soon for episode five ?. This episode is dedicated to my cousin Maame Akua Serwaa♥️. Thank you, thank you being an amazing little sister. Congratulations on your graduation, may God elevate you?
Hmmmmmm. Very sad.
Aww don’t be sad sweetie. Maybe episode five would be better??. Thanks for reading
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