Song of the chapter: Cold by Maroon 5 & Toh Bad by Niyola

...

Abena walked slowly while looking at the different maternity dresses. Her clothes were getting small again, and she was too angry at Tobi to ask him to tag along.

She frowned again, thinking of the argument they had had the night before.

How could he be so nonchalant about what the press was saying about her?

About the both of them?

...

"This isn't funny Tobi. Can you hear what they're saying? Nobody cares about what we look like!" Abena shouted.

"Calm down Abena. After a while, they'll just forget about it and move to a new story." He replied, visibly frustrated.

"They're calling me your baby mama! They say the pregnancy might not even be yours because apparently, Tobi Ademi can't make such a 'mistake'." She snapped.

"But you know it's my baby!" Tobi cried in exasperation. "Why do you care about what they say?"

"Because!" She sighed.

He looked at her expectantly, waiting for further explanations.

"I don't know! I just don't like it. Look at all the horrible things they're saying about me! And it's true." Abena finally said.

"Who cares what they say?" Tobi asked again.

"Me."

"Why?"

"Because I'm pregnant! When I'm happy, I'm elated. When I'm sad, I'm fucking depressed!" Tobi winced at the sound of her swearing.

"Abena. What they say doesn't matter. You and I, that's all that matters." He held her shoulders and looked at her. She looked away from him, averting her eyes to anywhere but his inviting gaze.

"Look at me, ife mi." He whispered.

Her heart beat quickened at the sound of the new nickname.

"Please, stop them from saying all those things about me. I don't want to be seen as that girl." She replied, her lips quivering as she spoke.

"Okay." He replied and pulled her into a hug that she happily accepted.

...

Although they had resolved it, Abena couldn't shake off a feeling, that someone was setting them up to fail.

She pulled out another dress and took them all to the dressing room to try them on. Although she was in love with her unborn children, she hated the fact that she was pregnant.

Or fat, as she called herself sometimes.

She wished she had accepted Tobi's offer when he wanted to accompany her to the mall, but she wanted some time to think.

They were both from two separate worlds, and someone was trying to make that fact known to her.

...

After trying all the dresses, and hating each one, Abena walked out of Mr. Price and decided to go to Shoprite to get herself ice cream. She had finished every single tub at home and although she loved ice cream, she hated the fact that she was eating like a pig.

She picked two large chocolate ice cream tubs and dropped them in the trolley. She wondered why she had decided to take a trolley when she wasn't buying much, but after inhaling the scent from the Shoprite bakery, she couldn't help but follow it and forget about every other thing.

As she made her way to the bakery, someone stopped her; a woman who was a few inches taller than her. The only thing Abena noticed, was her blazing red lipstick, which clashed badly with her very dark skin.

"Hey! I know you!"

Abena froze in her spot and thought of whether to turn around or keep walking. Before she could decide, the woman, accompanied by three other women that Abena just noticed walked up to Abena and smiled at her.

But it wasn't a warm smile. Instead it was intimidating, threatning.

"I told you she looked familiar!" One of the girls hissed to the other.

Abena stared at them, not sure of what they wanted. All that was going through her head was the thought bakery on the other side and the four strangers that were blocking her way.

"I saw you on t.v. You're Tobi Ademi's baby mama aren't you?" The woman with the red lipstick asked, giving her a disgusted sneer.

"Tobi Ademi! You mean the billionaire! Lucky girl. I thought he doesn't date?" Another girl asked, feigning innocence.

Abena's heart was thumping now, against her chest. She had never been confronted this way before, and she hated the way they looked at her.

They looked at her like she was cheap.

A slut.

"I heard that the baby might not even be his." 'Red Lipstick' said, talking as though Abena was not there, and all Abena wanted to do was wrap her hands around her neck and choke her out of anger, but she clenched her fists and watched quietly.

"Yeah, this isn't the first time someone would claim to be pregnant for him, but when paternity tests are done, you'll find out that the girl was just lying." A girl wearing a cap said.

Abena's eyes widened at the statement. She never knew that Tobi had had other women lying about being pregnant for him, and now they were so sure that she was just like that.

They had cornered her now, and the mall was so crowded that nobody noticed the interaction between them. A few people looked at them with suspicions, but nobody bothered to intervene.

"Yeah that can be true. Gold diggers are everywhere nowadays." A girl said, chewing her gum noisily.

"Can you please excuse me? I need to leave." Abena finally spoke up, anger flowing through her veins.

"Is that child for Tobi Ademi?" 'Red Lipstick' asked. "Or is it just another bastard?"

Abena gave her a resounding slap on her cheek, which caused heads to turn and other people finally stopped to watch the drama that they hoped would unfold. Some already had their phones ready to catch every second on video.

"How dare you?" Abena heard the ugly black girl snarl.

'Red Lipstick' raised a hand to slap Abena back but surprisingly, Abena held her hand back and glared at her. She gave her another slap, feeling good with herself.

"Don't you ever, ever in your miserable life, call my children that name."

Abena grabbed her trolley and stormed over to the bakery, now feeling embarrassed because of the attention that she had attracted.

She couldn't help but wish Tobi had come with her.

Not only would she have found the right dresses, but if he was with her, the rest of the world would finally believe her.

...

Abena lay down on the couch, watching a comedy show and sipping Orange juice lazily. Tobi had gone to Ibadan, and wouldn't be back till the next day.

It was still afternoon, and although she wanted to go out, she couldn't help but remember what happened the last time she did.

When she got home, she was eager to see Tobi, to ask him to clean up the mess that was beginning to expand, but he wasn't around, and he left a note saying that he had gone to Ibadan for urgent business.

She had called his mother after a while, just to know how she was doing, but after a while, she just felt lazy and decided to lay around a bit.

A few months ago, her life was drama-free.

Tough, but still drama-free.

But she was willing to go through all the drama, because she was sure the he was going to stay with her through it all.

She placed her hand lovingly on her stomach, and smiled.

Tobi loved doing that, he would kiss her stomach before she went to sleep, talking to the twins as though they could hear him.

He was totally convinced that they could.

He was also totally convinced that they were both girls.

Abena smiled to herself and suddenly missed him. She had never been dependent on anyone, but she found herself leaning on him more and more every day.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the front door, followed by the continuous ringing of the doorbell.

Abena walked towards the door with caution, and opened it slowly. Before she could say a word, and angry Eniola stormed in, burning with anger.

"Where is Tobi?" She snarled at Abena.

Abena rolled her eyes at her, still surprisingly calm. "He's not home."

"He wasn't at the office too." Eniola pointed out.

"He's out of town for a while." Abena shrugged.

"I'll pay you." Eniola said out of the blue. Abena looked at her in confusion, wondering what the witch of a woman in front of her possibly meant.

"I'll pay you to leave Tobi for me." She explained and Abena looked at her, not with anger, but with disgust.

What was the limit to her desperation?

"No thank you. I don't need your money. Not everything can be bought with money." Abena replied confidently, although her words seemed to bite back at her too.

After all, she was pregnant for money.

"You wouldn't last. You've seen the news. The both of you aren't meant for each other. You're dirt poor, and he's filthy rich. You're low class, and he's highly sophisticated. All he needs is that child, and when he finally gets it, you'll be gone. Out of his life, and out of my way. He wouldn't have the courage to tell the world that he's with someone like you Abena. Wake up! This isn't some American cliche novel. This is Nigeria. Naija! It doesn't work that way. Poor people like you don't mix with the rich guys like us."

Abena shut her eyes firmly, and opened them again, looking at Eniola with pure hatred.

"Get out."

Eniola smirked at her, knowing fully well that Abena was affected by her words. She walked out of the house elegantly, and Abena wondered why Tobi was with someone like her, when he could have someone better.

...

Tobi had returned from Ibadan quickly, eager to see Abena, so he was surprised to see that she didn't feel the same.

She had been giving him one word answers, and spending more time in her room. He suspected that it was because of what had been trending on the news, so he decided to put an end to it.

...

Abena stared at the t.v. suddenly hating the piece of equipment that had entertained her for a very long time.

Tobi was on t.v, holding a press conference. He had said it before that news like that would be disturbing to his image, and business partners wouldn't want to continue working with him if he had such a questionable reputation.

He was asked the question about his relationship with Abena, and her she drew a breath, eager to hear what he was going to say.

"All I did was help a friend in need. We're just friends. Nothing more."

...

"Hey, what's up?" Tobi called as he walked into the house. He pulled Abena to him and was about to kiss her when she wriggled out of his arms with force.

"Friends don't kiss each other!" She snapped.

"Ife mi, just listen." He started, rubbing his temple with his hand.

"Don't call me that. Don't even." She warned him, shooting daggers at him with a piercing glare.

"You don't understand. I had to. I had to stop the rumours." He pleaded.

"Then why couldn't you tell them what you told me! You said you wanted to be with me! Was that a lie?" She raised her voice, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"No it wasn't. I would never lie to you. I want to be with you." He replied.

"Then why couldn't you just tell the whole world the truth?" Her voice was shaking as she spoke, and she could feel the tears threatening to spill out.

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again, as though he was looking for the right words.

He wouldn't have the courage to tell the world that he's with someone like you.

Eniola's words rang in her mind.

"Were you ashamed of me?"

He shook his head vehemently and was about to speak, but she wasn't done.

"You were trying to protect your reputation, weren't you?" She asked, accusation in her voice.

He looked away from her, feeling guilty, and she didn't stop the tears from falling this time.

"All that mattered that moment was the reputation that you had worked so hard to build all your life, and you couldn't let one small thing, like me, ruin it all." She continued and he couldn't speak.

He didn't know what to say.

She stormed out of the room, but not before saying:

"I knew falling in love with you was a mistake."

...

Poor Abena 😣😟

Ohhh my Lord! I'm awake at past twelve posting this chapter cuz I might be too busy to post later in the day.

'Ife mi' means 'my love' 😍😉

Ibadan is a state in Nigeria. The state they live is called Lagos state.

Soooo...

😉😅 how was this chapter?

What do you think about the mall incident?

And Eniola's words? 😕😡

On a scale of one to ten, (ten is the highest), how much do you hate Tobi right now?

The Contract has moved to #709 in Romance!

How amazing is that? 😆😆😆

I really hope you guys like this chapter, cuz right now, I'm rubbing my eyes in order to stay awake 😥😩😩😴

But it's cuz I love you guys, and I was so excited about moving up to #709 in Romance and everything so I just decided to update 😄

Don't forget about the Nigerian Warty Awards, tomorrow is the deadline, and I really hope we have enough nominations. For more info, please check out the part titled Nigerian Watty Awards (Please Read Again).

Keep your comments and votes coming! They always make me laugh 😁😊😀

Although I always have one song of the chapter, I just could pick between those two. They really reflect what happened in this chapter.

Advice, suggestions, criticism, they are welcome. Let me know what I'm doing wrong or right.

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Vote - You! Don't leave here without pressing that star button 😉

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Keep on being amazing, my lovely bananas;

☺

- Timi