Why? 3 || Shackled to the Heart 19

EPISODE 19

Wrong Place

INT. A RESTAURANT IN JOHANNESBURG- NIGHT

Imade glides her way into a high class restaurant whose only occupant is a man in an expensive looking three piece suit in a dinner gown. With a bright smile plastered on her face she goes round this man to face him

IMADE

Good evening

Her smiles fades when she see Micheal Omoloja sitting in the chair before her. She looks so shocked as she opens her mouth wide

IMADE

Mi..Mic…Micheal!

Micheal, a man who is now in his early forties stands up and stretches his hands to her

MICHEAL

(With a bright smile on his face) Imade

Imade still in disbelief stares at him

MICHEAL

Are you going to leave my hand as it is?

IMADE

Oh! I am sorry

She shakes him and then he drags her with his hand into his arms

MICHEAL

(Whispers into her ears) It was nice seeing you again

She removes herself from his embrace and looking disorientated as she looks around the almost empty restaurant

IMADE

I think I am in the wrong place

MICHEAL

No, you are not. I am the owner of the building your husband want

IMADE

(Exclaims) What?

MICHEAL

(Chuckles to himself) I never thought he will actually send you, I guess he must be really desperate

IMADE

(Scoff) All of a sudden, the building he was so sure he was going to get was sold to an unknown buyer, you did this and for what?

MICHEAL

To see you of course, why else?

IMADE

What?

MICHEAL

I have been trying to reach out to you all these years but your husband has blocked every channel of talking to you. There was no way of seeing you without him knowing, I am sorry, I had to resort to this but it was the only way

IMADE

I am out of here

Imade turns to leave but Micheal holds her back

MICHEAL

It is just a dinner, Imade

Forcefully removing her hand from Micheal’s grip, she snaps

IMADE

It is not just a dinner, Micheal. You did all of these to see me, that building you brought is worth millions of dollars and you did that just to see me. I am not a child, Micheal, I know when a man is trying to get into my pant and I have put too much effort into putting what happened behind me, I am not going to destroy my family over a failed love affair

MICHEAL

I am not trying to destroy your family, Imade, I just want to catch up with you. Are you saying you are not happy to see me?

IMADE

The fact that I am happy to see you is that reason why I have to go when I still have the strength to go

She turns towards the door and walks towards it

MICHEAL

So what? You are going to tell your husband you failed

Imade stops on her track

MICHEAL

The first time he let you handle a business deal and that is only because I insisted on meeting the CEO, you are going to tell him you failed. I can bet my entire fortune on the fact that he is not expecting you to give him any good news either

Imade turns to face him

IMADE

You don’t know my husband

MICHEAL

Maybe not as well as you but the little I know is enough

IMADE

Which is?

MICHEAL

He is the smartest businessman I know and people like that thinks that they are the only ones with the solution to a problem. He probably sent you because sending you is the easy way out but you go back to him with no building, he will probably tell you it is okay but don’t be mistaken, he will get the building one way or the other, either legally or illegally and when that happens, he is going to find out that I am the owner of the building

On hearing this, Imade shifts uncomfortably

MICHEAL

He has done everything possible to stop us from interacting over the years, only to find out that we had a dinner which I don’t think you will tell him about. What do you think will be going to through his mind then? Without even having dinner with me, Imade, there will be cracks in your marriage because he will start to doubt you

Imade looks wary

MICHEAL

Come on Imade, it is just dinner, we eat, we catch up and the building is yours

Imade hesitates, then Micheal goes round the table and drags out a chair

MICHEAL

Come on, Imade, let me help you disappoint your husband

IMADE

How much do you want for the building?

MICHEAL

Remember, We eat, we catch up and the…

IMADE

Building is mine, I heard the first time

MICHEAL

Good

Imade walks back to the table and sits down. Micheal claps his hand once and waiters all troupe in with aluminium dishes in their hands, Imade tries to cover her face from them seeing her face

MICHEAL

Don’t worry, they are not going to tell

While they set the table, Imade receives a message from Aunty Bebii asking how the meeting is going. She signed loudly without replying to the message. The waiters makes their way out of the restaurant the moment they finish serving. With the screen light of her phone still on, Micheal sees the picture of Jowaloju and Tawalore

MICHEAL

Those are your girls?

IMADE

(Absentmindedly) what?

He gestures to her phone

MICHEAL

Your girls?

Imade looks down at her phone and then quickly hits the power button which makes the phone screen go dark

IMADE

Yes

He unwraps the fork and knife from the napkin

MICHEAL