Song of the chapter: Mama by Kiss Daniel

...

"Tobi."

"Tobi wake up." Abena whined while hitting him roughly on his arm.

"Go away." He mumbled and looked away.

"Wake up you lazy ass billionaire." She hissed, shaking his shoulders.

"For a pregnant woman, you're too violent. Go away Abena." He mumbled wearily. He muttered some incoherent words and shut his eyes firmly.

Abena groaned in frustration and stomped her feet against the floor like a child. "I'm hungry." She whined while grabbing a pillow and hitting his head repeatedly.

He muttered a couple of colourful words before grabbing the pillow and throwing it far from her. He turned away from her again and shut his eyes. "I have a kitchen for a reason."

"I know. But I want corn flakes." She said while looking around the room, looking for another weapon.

"Well it's not here." He groaned.

"I know. It's on the top shelf." She explained.

"How is this my problem?" He said through gritted teeth, obviously annoyed.

"I can't reach it na. Don't be such an ode." She said but she got no reply. She moved closer to his face and noticed that he fell asleep.

Groaning in frustration, she looked around the room and her gaze wandered to the bathroom. A smile suddenly lit up her face and she walked into it grinning.

Moments later, Tobi yelped and jumped out of the bed soaking wet. He glared at Abena who smiled at him in return. She placed her hands on her hips and grinned triumphantly, obviously pleased with her achievement.

He ignored her and walked to his closet, rummaging it for another t shirt. He removed the wet one, and Abena savored the few seconds before he wore the other one. She composed herself and looked at him confidently.

"Lead the way Mr. Ademi." She said and he glared at her even harder.

He stomped past her angrily and down the stairs while she followed behind, smiling sweetly. As he reached for the carton of corn flakes in the shelf, she stopped him.

"What?" He snapped but she didn't look intimidated at all. She looked like she was enjoying it.

"I changed my mind, I don't want cereal. I want a sandwich please." She asked sweetly.

"Why didn't you just make one? The sandwich maker is right there." He growled while pointing at the machine.

"Well you made really amazing ones two days ago and I really wanted you to make me some but I didnt know how to tell you so I thought hard and hard and hard and hard and then I decided to just trick you into it since I dont know how you made them and you won't answer me if I just asked you normally. And I woke up very hungry and craving the sandwich and-"

"If I make you a sandwich, will you stop talking to me?" He asked cutting off her blabbering.

She nodded sweetly and he grumbled some words before getting the bread and the other ingredients. Abena was sure to catch the words 'annoying pregnant woman', and 'no sleep... all Joseph's fault.'

She bit back a chuckle and sat on a stool. "Do you need any help?" She asked.

"No."

Shrugging, she walked to the sitting room and slumped on the chair. She picked the remote and started surfing through the channels looking for something to watch. After a while, she settled on an African Magic movie but was not really concentrating on it.

She felt someone stare at her after a while and looked up to see Tobi standing by the door with a plate of sandwiches and two mugs of beverages. She suddenly felt self conscious in her shirt that was getting too small for her baby bump and her sport shorts.

She berated herself for caring about what she wore while he was there and her gaze flickered to the sandwiches.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squealed and stood up grabbing the plate from him. He gave her an amused smile and rolled his eyes. She sat down and he sat down beside her. He handed her a cup of Milo.

"But you're drinking coffee!" She complained with her mouth full.

"I like you better when you're not awake, so coffee isn't really the best thing for you right now." He simply said before shifting his gaze to the television.

She folded her arms against her chest and frowned. He reached for the plate to take a sandwich and she slapped his hand away. He narrowed his eyes at her but she grabbed the plate and looked away.

He rolled his eyes at her childish attitude and his gaze lowered to her ebony legs. He looked at her outfit and forced his eyes to look away. How could she wear that and still look beautiful? If he saw another woman in those kinds of clothing, he would call her a homeless person.

He pushed the thought out of his mind and they sat there in awkward silence. Abena racked her brain thinking of what to do to break the silence but came up with nothing.

"Why are you still here?" She blurted out and mentally palm slapped her face.

"It's my house. I can be wherever I want." He replied cockily. "Besides, all that water you dumped on me took my sleep away."

"Sorry." She whispered sheepishly.

"It's okay. Pregnant woman madness. I get it." He shrugged.

"I'm not mad!" She uttered in protest.

"Crazy? Eccentric? Mentally unstable? Take your pick." He replied still staring a the tv.

"Whatever." She glared at him and took a bite of her sandwich.

"There's only one left? There were seven on that plate!" Tobi exclaimed in disbelief.

"Well now they're in my stomach. I'm eating for two, remember?" She pointed a finger at him.

"I'm sure you ate six and the baby ate only one." He said with a smile and she rolled her eyes looking away from his perfectly chiseled face.

"So."

"So?"

"How does it feel to be a billionaire? At 26?" She asked looking at him.

"You get used to it after a while. Making billions is no big deal for me now. I've been running the company since I was eighteen." He shrugged.

"Wasn't that too young?" She took one last gulp of her Milo and wiped her mout with the back of her hand, even though he brought napkins. He rolled his eyes at her rather 'savage' behaviour and continued talking, trying to avoid an argument.

"Well my dad died, his second in command took over, I worked with him until I was ready. Then I started making billions. They say I have the Midas touch." He smirked.

"I was about to apologize for your father's death but then you just continued speaking and you ruined it all." She joked and he laughed. She enjoyed the few seconds of seeing his laugh, knowing that she wouldn't see it again in a long time.

"My father died a long time ago. I've learnt to live with it, and try my best to make him proud." He simply stated and she nodded, beaming at him with admiration.

"So the famous Tobi Ademi can talk like this." She smiled.

"This is my house. I can talk however I want." He said quickly covering up his smile.

She rolled her eyes. She knew he was trying his best to stay away from her and not talk to her but she wasn't going to live in a house and not talk to the only other person in it.

"What about you?" He asked.

"How does it feel to be poor? Horrible, thanks for asking." She replied sarcastically.

"That's one annoying thing about women. Before you say one sentence, they have replied with one paragraph." He pointed out.

"Whatever. What did you want to ask?" She asked biting her bottom lip. She prayed silently that he won't ask her about her family.

"How does it feel to be pregnant?"

"Really?"

"What?" He shrugged, his lips tugging into a small smile.

"Well... there's a good part. It feels... weird. You know, life is growing inside of me. Another human, with a completely different personality and way of thinking. Someone else that would stand out in the world. Sometimes I wonder how he or she-"

"Please refer to my child as a 'she'." He said and she rolled her eyes.

"As I was saying, I wonder how she would be. What she would grow up to be. If she would look like me, or take your ugly face." She joked obviously lying about the last part.

"You check me out every morning." He replied with a famous smile.

Okay, not so famous since he only showed it to her and Joseph.

"I just wonder how she would be like." Abena said, her voice sounding far off.

"Abena, you do realize that-." Tobi started cautiously.

"I know. Don't say it." She said quietly. She knew this would happen, and she was just in her third month. She was already forming a bond with the unborn child.

Silence hung heavily in the air for a while. "What about the bad part?" Tobi finally asked.

She groaned and he burst into laughter. "I puke a lot, I eat like an elephant, my clothes are already getting tight, and I'm so fat! Not to mention that in six months from now, I would have to push a head probably this big, through a hole this tiny!" She gestured with her fingers.

"Or maybe two heads?" Tobi asked with a smirk.

"If I slap you ehn, you would see double." She threatened and he laughed again.

"It's already almost three." Tobi pointed out after a while. "I should probably go to bed." She stood up and stretched not noticing that Tobi's gaze lingered on her back side longer than necessary.

"Aren't you going to clear where you ate?" He asked.

She picked her plate and cup, intentionally leaving his behind, and walked to the kitchen. She dumped them in the sink and decided to wash them the next day.

"Don't even think about leaving those there." Tobi warned stepping into the kitchen.

"I''ll wash it tomorrow." She yawned not bothering to cover her mouth. He ignored her and pointed at the sink.

"I don't like messes in my house Abena."

"It's just a plate and cup. Your whole house is still perfectly perfect. Like no one lives here. Don't worry." She said dramatically and started walking towards the stairs.

"Abena. Don't you walk away from me. Come back this instant and tidy up this sink."

"You'll get old fast if you keep talking and acting like that." She replied still walking away.

He groaned in frustration. He liked things in a particular way. Why was she messing that up?

...

"Abena how many -"

Abena froze when she saw Tobi enter her room, without knocking. She was just stepping out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped tightly around her.

"Didn't your mother teach you how to knock?" She snapped.

"It's my house, I can do whatever it is that I want." He replied dryly.

"Abeg abeg, shut up jare. We get it, it's your overpriced house. But this is my room." She walked closer to him angrily. "In this room, everything goes the way I want, its not part of your house, as long as I'm here. Do you get it?" She said raising her voice a few octaves higher.

His jaw dropped but he quickly masked his surprise with a frown. "Watch your mouth."

"Next time, knock." She pointed at him.

"Everything must go the way I want it to go Abena. If you don't want me to barge into your room, lock the damn door." He said while she bent down to pick a banana peel.

"Why are there banana peels lying in the kitchen?"

"I woke up early this morning hungry so I went to the kitchen and ate bananas as I walked." She said slowly.

"I have a dustbin for a reason Abena." He shouted.

"It's just a small mess. You could practically pick it up and the kitchen would still be spotless." She shouted back.

"Why are you so damn annoying?" He snapped.

"Why are you such a control freak?" She spat out, glaring at him.

"And why do you have such a nice ass?" He blurted out to her utmost surprise.

Her mouth opened slightly and he froze. They stared at each other for a few seconds before he cleared his throat.

"Dont leave banana peels around again." He said calmly before leaving. Still in surprise, Abena locked the door before removing her towel.

As she walked down the stairs a couple of minutes after, Tobi was leaning on a couch already dressed for work.

"Look I'm sorry I'm messy alright. I'm used to dropping things around so-"

"Like your bra?" He asked pointing to the black bra on the couch in the space she sat earlier in the morning.

"I forgot it there." She said sheepishly.

"Just keep my house clean." He warned and she nodded with a strained smile.

"Yes sir. I won't leave banana peels around any-"

They were interrupted by the sound of something breaking. Tobi fumed with anger while Abena looked surprised. She had just dropped a vase on the floor.

"I'm so sorry. It was a mistake. You can deduct it from the next payment." She quickly said as she bent down to pick up the broken pieces.

"Are you crazy?" He groaned helping her stand up, trying to avoid her stomach. Her fingers were bleeding from the broken pieces that she touched.

"Do you know how important every single drop of blood is for my baby?" He asked as he led her to the sink.

As he washed her hands, she began to sob quietly. "I'm sorry. I'm such a mess. I don't know why I'm even crying. Or why I'm dropping things everywhere. And forgetting to do things. I'm sorry." She said quietly.

He turned her around to face him and planted a kiss on her forehead, to her utmost surprise. "Take care. I have to go to work." He just said before leaving her in the kitchen.

...

"She loved her. She name the puppy Blaze. God, you should have seen her face when I got her the puppy. I knew it was an amazing idea." Joseph grinned, telling Tobi about his anniversary with Dera.

They were sitting in the conference room waiting for some investors that were stuck in traffic.

"That sounds like Dera." Tobi replied, attempting to smile, but his friend didn't notice his mood.

"And we've been married for six years. God! I feel so old." Joseph chuckled.

"You are." Tobi simply said.

"What's wrong? I know it's not about this deal we're about to close because you always get what you want." Joseph pointed out.

"It's Abena." Tobi groaned in frustration.

"Ohh. You're in love with her?" Joseph asked hopefully.

"There's something wrong with you." Tobi glared at his friend who in response, gave him a shrug.

"We always fight. And I'm trying so hard to not fight with her because she's pregnant and she has mood swings and I don't want her to get depressed and all that, but she does every single thing wrong." Tobi explained.

"I like her. With everything you tell me, you can tell that she lives in the moment. Unlike you. You guys would be good for each other." Joseph smiled while reading skimming through a document.

"For the millionth time, she's not my type!" Tobi snapped. "And what do you mean by I don't live in the moment. I live in the moment." Tobi stated, though it sounded like he was trying to convince himself rather than convince his friend.

Joseph gave Tobi a look that said: 'yeah right.'

"No you don't. You arrange every aspect of your life, even your one night stands!" Joseph argued.

"Well I have to control the outcome of every situation." Tobi said.

"No you don't. Learn to live a little without planning what would happen after. From my point of view, you're definitely losing control with this Abena thing." Joseph replied.

Tobi groaned in response.

"Just be nice to her. She's pregnant for you, and she's doing it for money, so it's eating her up. Be nice to the girl and stop being such an ogre."

Tobi was about to respond when Funmi opened the door slightly, showing only her head.

"The investors are here."

Tobi nodded and stood up. "What are you doing this weekend?" He asked Joseph.

"Going to Osun. I have a case to settle there. You?"

"Tami is supposed to come over."

"Who?"

"An actress." Tobi explained with a chuckle.

"And you're taking her to your house, with Abena there?" Joseph asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"I really haven't thought about that." Tobi replied, his smile suddenly disappearing.

As they walked out of the room to welcome the investors, Joseph whispered, "You know for a billionaire, sometimes, you're just dumb."

...

Abena couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Tobi kissed her forehead. And when she realised that she was thinking about it, she stopped herself from thinking about it and started thinking about the fact that she was thinking about it.

She was in the indoor pool, wearing a bra and a pair of Tobi's boxer shorts that she 'borrowed'.

She knew why she was a mess lately, apart from the disadvantages of being pregnant, she couldn't stop thinking about the one in the hospital. She had finally paid the hospital some amount of money to get started, so a small part of her was relieved. But she still had a bad feeling about her step mother and whatever she could be up to.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing.

The house phone.

She got out of the pool and got a towel. She walked into the main house, the phone was still ringing. She contemplated on whether to pick it or not. Shrugging, she picked the phone.

"Hello. Tobi Ademi's residence." She said in a sickly sweet voice.

"Please tell Tobi that he shouldn't forget that Tami's coming over for the weekend. And that I'm bringing his favorite lingerie." She heard a woman say rudely.

Ignoring the tightening in her chest, she replied in her most professional voice. "I'll make sure he gets the message."

"Good. Who are you anyway?"

"Just the help." Abena replied and the girl, Tami, hung up.

Abena scolded herself for being foolish. Of course yes he was bringing a girl home, what did she think.

She just had a little crush on him, but now it's all gone.

At least that's what she told herself.

...

"Abena. I'm ho-." Tobi stopped shouting when he saw Abena was just in the sitting room watching a movie.

She turned around and gave him a smile. He lifted an eyebrow in surprise, why was she smiling?

"How was work?" Abena asked.

"Fine. As usual." Tobi said slowly.

"Good." She said and turned back to the tv. He shrugged and walked towards the stairs.

"Oh, and Tami called. Said something about bringing your favorite lingerie." He heard her say.

"Oh." He turned around looked at her.

"You should have at least said something. Do you think I would be comfortable staying in the house, while you guys do your business?" She asked, still surprisingly calm.

"Sorry. I forgot. I was going to tell you, or even cancel." He apologized.

"No need to apologize. Its not like I own the house or anything. Where am I supposed to stay while you check out Tami's lingerie?" She asked sweetly. He winced at her words.

"I was going to set you up in a house in the estate for the weekend." He replied.

"Can I stay there till I deliver?" She asked hopefully. The faster she went away from him, the faster her crush on him would die down.

"No. I have to keep an eye on you." He said immediately.

"Before you didn't even want me in your house, now you want to keep an eye on me?" She retorted.

"Abena. Please. Not now." He said and walked up the stairs ignoring her yelling at him.

A few minutes after, he rushed back downstairs still wearing his office clothes. He was frantically searching for something and there was fear written all over his face.