CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
My Youth
I felt a spread of warmth in my chest watching Bewaji move away from the hotel where we had been holed up for the last two weeks in her car. I felt a mixture of emotions seeing her glow with an intense light—extremely bright, almost blinding.
I didn’t stop waving to her until she was out of sight. I felt relief, knowing that we still had each other. There was gratitude in the fact that she had forgiven me for everything I had done to her. There was a trace of nervousness, knowing I had to do whatever it took to make up for all the ways I had fucked up, but underneath all of that was a high level of fear, knowing that if I didn’t do what was necessary at this very moment, I was going to lose her.
So, with determination and a strength that had been so difficult for me to muster months before, I entered my own car.
“Where to, boss?” my driver inquired as I fastened my seatbelt.
“Take me to Frances,” I said. About forty minutes later, I was entering the living room of my house, where my mother, father, brother, and Frances were waiting for me. I couldn’t find Melissa and it was wise of her to make herself scarce because she was the last person I wanted to see right now.
“Finally, the prodigal son is back,” Frances taunted, her tone bitter. "Or should I say lover?"
“Brother!” Ethan stood up to hug me, and I hugged him in return. “It is good to have you back,” he said.
“Are you back?” Father asked, doubt in his voice.
“Yes,” I nodded. “I am back.”
“Now, since all pleasantries are over, can we talk about how we are going to fix your fuck-up?” Frances seethed, standing from where she was seated.
“Frances!” Mother called softly.
“What? It’s a mess, and you know that,” she responded, her tone sharp.
“Please, can you all excuse us? I want to have a word with Frances.”
My father and brother walked past me while my mother placed her hand on my face and pecked me softly.
“It’s good to have you back, Mon amour,” she said with a soft smile and left.
I turned back to Frances the moment I heard the door close behind my mother. Frances smiled at me as she went to the mini bar near the living room and poured herself some whisky. A part of me knew she knew what I was about to do. She drank it in one gulp, placed the glass on the table, and turned back to me.
“Let’s have it,” she said with a tight smile, confirming my assumption. “I think I need to sit for this.” She then sat down.
“I am done,” I announced with indifference, already irritated by her reaction. Frances’s face hardened the moment those three words left my lips.
“That was not the answer I was expecting. I asked you how we are going to fix your fuck-up.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” I blurted out, upset at her deflection. “It’s my life. I will handle it.”
“So, you are breaking up with me?” she finally stated.
“I am sorry.”
“You are sorry?”
“I know what you have done for me, Frances. I know I can never repay you. I can try, but it will never come close to all the sacrifices you have made for me. I also know that this was not the way the plan was supposed to go. I betrayed you, and I accept full responsibility for that.... but I love Bewaji.” I paused to look at her; she remained unfazed. “It won’t be fair to her or you if—”
Then she burst into laughter. I watched her shoulders shake violently, her chest heaving with each harsh, high-pitched burst, slicing through the tension. At first, I thought she didn’t believe me and was in denial, but as it went on, I realized her laughter was not denial or amusement.... she was heartbroken and angry.
Suddenly, I felt like the villain. This, all of this, was not her fault. She was fighting for what belonged to her, for what she had fought for. This woman had given seven years of her life, and I had wiped it all away. It was unfair, I knew, but I had to do what was right for me too.
“This was not an easy decision for me, you know,” I murmured, guilt weighing on every word.
“Not easy,” she repeated, still laughing.
“Yes, it was not,” I admitted. “And you know that. You know how I wrestled with it, and you know I never wanted to be with Bewaji. I never wanted this plan.”
“So, it’s my fault, right? I am at fault for you dumping me for that village girl?”
“I am sorry, honestly. I wish I didn’t have to do this, but I had to choose, and I chose Bewa. I love her.” Her laughter continued, and the heavy twisting feeling in my gut clenched harder. “You will be compensated.”
“Compensated?” she let out a bitter chuckle, hard and uneven. “I gave you my youth.” She stood up and stopped laughing. It was sudden, unsettling, and the room felt heavier the moment she stopped. She moved her hands in frustration before looking back at me. Every trace of her earlier chuckle was gone; only pain and something harder to name remained.
“I built my life around you,” she lamented. “All the late nights, the struggles, my time, my energy, my sacrifice—and all of it comes down to compensation, Seriously Kylian? For seven years, I made you my priority, your dreams became my dreams, your family became my family, your successes were my successes, and your failures were my failures. I made you the Alpha and Omega of my life—the beginning and my very end. Where do you want me to start from?” she blurted in agony.
“You will be com—”
“If you tell me I will be compensated again, I promise I will kill you,” she yelped as tears finally poured down her cheeks.
“What can I do, Frances? What can I do to even the score?”
“You know what to do. Come back to me, and I will forgive everything that has happened.”
“You know I can’t do that.”
“Then get lost,” she bellowed, her lips trembling. “GET OUT!”
With no other choice, I moved toward the door and turned to her. “I know you are angry and you have every right to be, but Delphine will be here soon. Take whatever you want.”
“Don’t worry. I took what I wanted already,” she stated, glaring at me. “You will suffer for this, Kylian. It will be slow and painful, I promise you that.”
I understood how she felt, but in time, I was sure she would be fine.
“I am deeply sorry for this, Frances, and I hope that one day, you will find a place in your heart to forgive me,” I apologized sincerely.
“Don’t let the door hit you on your way out,” she responded sternly.
I found my parents waiting at my car, jaws tightened and hands clenched. From where I stood at the entrance, I could see my mother boiling with anger.
“I am going to assume you heard all of that,” I said the moment I reached them.
“Kylian,” my mother started, but I cut in sharply as I moved closer.
“Please, don’t try to convince me. I made up my mind.”
“Frances is an asset. How can you let her go?” she complained.
“I don’t have to explain my decision to you. It is my life, not yours,” I argued firmly.
“Then kindly explain to me how we go about our business from now on. Frances is vital to what you have built.”
“Well, not anymore,” I shouted in my mother’s face, and she was taken aback. I sighed heavily and apologized. “I am sorry. I know this is a big change, but we are going to be fine. I have discussed it with Delphine, and we are looking for a way out of this mess. Everything will be fine soon.”
“So until then, what do we do?” Father asked in a hard voice.
“Business as usual. But let all of our associates know that Frances Clouder does not represent us anymore.”
“So what? You used and dumped her?” Mother asked with scorn.
“That was not the intent. You know that, and she will be compensated.”
“Like that is going to be enough? You are her life.”
“I know. I know she has given a lot to me, and there is nothing I can do to repay her, but compensating her is all I can do.”
I opened the back door of my car and entered.
“You are making a mistake, Kylian,” my mother warned.
“Maybe, but I know I will be making a bigger one if I let Bewa go.”
I watched the elevator of the penthouse open to reveal Achraf, who smiled the moment he saw me. But I was in a nasty mood after my draining conversation with Frances and my family.
“I am sure you are aware that I broke things off with Frances, so if you are here to convince me, don’t even bother,” I warned, moving onto the terrace.
“Come on, Kylian, I was going to ask if you are okay,” my friend said as he followed me
“Seriously?” I asked in surprise, expecting him to scold me for choosing Bewa.
“Don’t get me wrong. Letting Frances go is a big mistake, and she does not deserve this treatment from you. She is a big asset to you.”
“There we have it,” I stated.
“But I can see that Bewa makes you happy.”
Now I was in shock. Where was this coming from?
“Is this some kind of trick or something?” I joked, even though there was a hint of seriousness in my voice.
“No, no trick,” he muttered, hands raised.
“So, you want me to suddenly believe you have accepted Bewa? Because trust me, when you told me you were coming to see me, I was expecting to fight you.”
He chuckled. “I understand where you’re coming from. Now, am I happy you dumped my friend? Fuck no! But you are also my friend, and your well-being is important to me.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yep.” He moved past me and placed his hand on the guardrail, looking out over the Parisian horizon. “I was really worried about you after Euros. I know how hard you take defeat, but looking at you now, I am happy you found Bewa. She is good for you.”
Seeing his countenance, I let my guard down.
“Thank you. Thank you for not fighting me too.” I moved closer to him. “After meeting Frances, I almost doubted my decision. I was starting to feel like a fool for choosing love. Thank you for making me feel it is okay to choose love sometimes.”
“I feel you, Kyks,” he sighed, placing his hand on my shoulder. “And I am envious. I wish I could find a love like yours.”
“Soon. And thank you.”
“So, when do I meet her?”
“When my life is not so screwed up.” We both laughed.
“So, you are staying here now?” he asked.
“Yeah, until I’ll move to Madrid.”
“It is probably better to let Frances have that house.” Achraf then looked around the terrace with a taunting expression. “Just how much fun did you have in this penthouse with your wife?”
I smiled brightly as memories from the last two weeks with Bewaji in this penthouse rushed into my head.
TO BE CONTINUED ON NEXT SATURDAY, 9.00PM WAT.
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