TWO-FACED LOVER

***

OCTOBER 17TH, 2016

*

CAMERON'S POV

"There goes my heart beating.

'Cuz you are the reason

I'm losing my sleep, please come back now.

There goes my mind racing

And you are the reason

That I'm still breathing

I'm hopeless now.

I'll climb every mountain

And swim every ocean, just to be with you

Fix what I've broken

Oh cuz I need you to see

That you are the reason.

There goes my hand, shaking

And you are the reason..."

Light.

Bright light seeps through the closed blinds making me groan my displeasure as I toss and turn, snuggling deeper into my comforter.

Hmm.

So comfortable.

So nice.

I snuggle deeper, grabbing and pulling a pillow before returning to my beauty sleep.

Yep, you heard right.

Beauty sleep.

Men too need that. And I sure as hell need it today of all days.

Especially when I'm losing my bachelorship this day itself.

Hmm. Nothing could be better.

Nothing could change or dampen my mood.

Not even the news I received from my crook of a father last night during my bachelor's party.

My face sets into a deep scowl as I push the comforter away from my body and sit up in bed, running my fingers through my hair.

After so much hard work. After putting in every drop of effort I could squeeze out of my body to make the company which was almost in ruins rise to fame again, my father as amazing as he is (note the sarcasm), upped one morning and decided to make my younger brother the CEO and heir apparent to all his wealth.

It didn't bother me. Honestly, it didn't because I could care less about the wealth and power the Knight group of companies possessed. But I'll admit it did hurt. It f*cking damn well did hurt to see my father give everything I had invested my time and energy in, to my brother who does nothing but chases after everything in a skirt all day and drown his pitiable self in alcohol.

He hasn't got a damn knowledge about how to run a business but still.

I sigh, rubbing my forehead.

I climb down down the bed, padding naked towards the bathroom.

I can't let my father or nincompoop of a brother ruin my day.

I've got a wedding to attend.

My wedding.

I've got vows to make and finally make Natalie mine for eternity.

My wife. Mine.

Only mine.

A sheepish grin spreads across my face at the thought.

I can't wait. I just f*cking can't wait.

And so turning on the shower, I let the water cascade down my body as I tune into the music I was playing earlier.

You are the reason by Calum Scott.

Mine and Natalie's favorite track.

And we're certainly going to slow dance to this same song at our wedding reception.

And it's all going to be damn worth it.

***

10:00 AM

I adjust my tie for the thousandth time in like five minutes.

Well damn.

What else am I supposed to do standing at the alter waiting for my bride to arrive?

It's ten am already.

She was supposed to arrive at 9:30.

But...

She's a good thirty minutes late already.

Is she okay?

Did something unexpected occur?

Is she having doubts?

Does she want to call this off?

Does...

F*ck!

No no no!

No!

I shut my eyes tightly, trying to steady my accelerating heartbeat.

I can't be thinking this way.

I can't.

Natalie and I have been in love since were teenagers.

This...

All this has always been her dream.

Her dream wedding.

She loves me.

I know. She proves it when we make love, how she holds me, kisses me, caresses me.

She's proven it a hundred and one times.

So there's no room for doubts.

No room.

I turn to cast a glance at my best man and best friend, Julian and he smiles assuringly, giving me the thumbs up.

My mother does the same.

I smile back at them, feeling reassured.

Natalie's just late.

Just traffic.

Yea.

She's just late.

***

10:30 AM.

I'm getting restless.

I tug at my tie that's beginning to feel more like a rope instead around my neck as I glance at the church gate.

Still no sign.

I smile.

Despite the dread settling in the pit of my stomach and gnawing at my sides, I still smile.

She'll come.

My bride will come.

***

11:00 AM.

I'm sweating now.

Sweating profusely.

I can hear whispering and murmurs across the church room.

Everyone.

Every guest. From the commoner to the most important people in the society are all seated in the church.

I turn away, rubbing the ache rising in my chest.

She'll come.

My bride will come.

***

11:30 AM

The whispering and murmurs are getting louder by the second.

I can almost hear what they are saying.

"Mr knight will the bride arrive or not? I'm sorry but I have another wedding ceremony to commemorate by 12:30" the priest whispers in my ear.

"My bride is just running late. Just a few more minutes please" I reply, fighting hard to believe the words I just uttered and he nods briskly.

She will come.

***

11:50 AM.

I can't take it.

I'm suffocating.

The guests are filing out of the church auditorium now.

They're leaving one by one.

As they leave I can see some cast me pitiful glances and others staring at me as though they have finally found a juicy topic for gossip on the front page of every newspaper and social media handles.

I can almost imagine how the headlines are going to be like.

"Cameron Knight, son of famous Brandon Knight of the group of Knight companies has been stood up at the alter"

I shake my head.

They don't know shit.

I stand my ground.

At the alter, with my head held high as I continue to wait.

Not minding the guests who are leaving.

I can get married with only one witness and I'd be okay.

As long as my bride arrives because she will.

I know she will.

That's how much faith I have in her.

***

12:10AM

"Son"

"No mother. Not today. She will come" I shrug my mother's hand off my shoulders and trudge towards the church gate with my heart as heavy as cement blocks.

Natalie will arrive.

It doesn't matter how long it takes but I'll wait.

She won't do this to me on our wedding day.

The day we've both dreamt of for months. She won't.

***

12:45 PM

Everyone is gone now. Except for my family and best friend.

I'm standing outside now because another wedding is taking place.

But I don't care. I f*cking don't.

"Son"

"No mother!" I snap and she flinches at the harshness of my tone of voice but I couldn't give a flipping f*ck.

"I know you never liked Natalie but please don't show your hatred for her today. I'm getting married to the love of my life. She's going to come. She's just running late."

I turn to stare at the streets. Still no sign of her car.

"Running late?" My mother retorts

"You think she's running late? Open your eyes, Cameron! That girl just ditched you on your wedding day. It's been how many hours now? Three hours! Are you saying she's been stuck in traffic for three hours? Cam she just ditched you! Accept it!"

I blink. I blink and blink again.

No.

Natalie won't do this to me.

She loves me as much as I do her.

She's just late or so I think.

Because thinking that way is much much better than accepting the fact that she just left me at the altar.

And so I tune out to my mother's words and continue to wait.

***

I keep waiting.

And never left where I was standing.

Not when all the guests I invited to my wedding had left.

Not when the priest asked me to leave because another couple had booked their wedding for one o'clock.

Not when the red lights are going off in my head.

Not when my heart begins to shatter to scrambles at the mere thought that the woman who'd promised to love me till eternity just stood me up.

Not when I stare at the time and realize it's 3:00 pm now.

Almost six hours.

The sun is beginning to set and the clouds are gathering.

Clear signs of rain.

I continue to wait.

Not when the sky rumbles and thunder strikes. I still don't leave.

I keep waiting for Natalie.

My love. My woman and my bride-to-be.

Not when it begins to rain in torrents, wetting the hair I had spent hours styling to look good.

Wetting the white tuxedo I had worn to match my bride's wedding gown.

Wetting my shoes.

I still stood outside, in the rain like the stupid fool I hadn't realized I was until today because Natalie made the biggest fool out of me.

Realization finally sinks in at what's happening.

She stood me up.

She never showed up.

She left me. At the alter.

Leaving me to lick my wounds.

Leaving me with a shattered heart never to get healed.

Not in a million years to come.

***

CAMERON'S POV

"Wow!" Natalie squeals as her eyes as big and wide as saucers scan the entire place when we leave the elevator.

"Oh my God Cam, this is beautiful" she gushes.

I must say, I would have been pretty f*cking disappointed if she didn't find any of this beautiful.

I had practically gone all out for this particular date of ours.

Natalie had always wanted to have dinner on a rooftop.

And so judging by the numerous red roses which are her favorite, by the way, scattered rather beautifully around the table that stood in the middle of the roof. And several candles aligning every edge and corner of the place giving it a dimly lit yet romantic atmosphere especially since it was pretty dark outside.

I must say I'm proud of my handiwork.

It was worth spending hours to get this arranged after all.

"You like?" I ask and she whips her head in my direction so fast I feared her neck would snap.

"Are you kidding me?" She gapes at me

"I f*cking love Cameron!"

There it was again.

The loud thump-thump of heart beating anytime she says my full name..

I Love it when she calls me Cam.

But I f*cking love it more when she calls me by my full name.

"Well then if you love it so much, why don't you have a seat so we can eat?"

She grins excitedly as I take her dainty little fingers in mine and lead us towards the table, pulling a seat out for her.

"Such a gentleman you are" she teases and I roll my eyes.

"Shut up and sit before I'm tempted to pull the seat back"

We stare at each other for a heartbeat or two before breaking into a fitful of laughter.

"I'll never forget that day Cam," Nat says between laughs.

I shake my head as memories of our childhood file into my head as I recall the first time our parents had introduced us.

I was ten by then and Natalie had walked in with her parents, her cute ponytail bouncing as she walked.

At first, I had pegged her for a shy and quiet girl because of the way she was usually clinging onto her mother's legs and hiding behind her...

But then, all that went flying out of the window when I had called her Natalia instead of Natalie.

Like a lion ready to pounce on its prey, she had jumped from behind her mother and screamed viciously.

"It's Natalie! Na-ta-lie!!! Know the difference! Don't you attend school?!"

I was so shocked I was pretty sure my mouth was left hanging.

Even at age ten, I had a pretty huge ego so when our parents had sent us out to play, I had waited for the perfect opportunity to carry out my revenge.

I mean this bratty eight-year-old couldn't get away with her miss-know-it-all attitude.

There was a swing in our backyard and she had wanted to sit on it. Being the child that I was, I sneaked up behind her and waited till she jumped to sit on the swing and then swiftly pulled it from under her making her land on her butt loudly.

I had the time of my life laughing my heart out while she barked out, crying loud enough to torture me for several nights.

"You were such a meanie" Natalie laughs, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"And you were such a bratty kid" I reply as I take a seat.

She just rolls her eyes when a waiter comes to serve us.

I had preordered everything before our arrival here.

"You'd already ordered for us?.." She pauses to lift the cover off the plate and gasps, rather dramatically may I add.

"My favorite!" She squeals staring at the food like her most prized possession.

"Yep. Your favorite" I drawl out in a dry tone.

She just rolls her eyes and digs in immediately as moans in delight.

I still don't understand why she loves carrot rice and vegetable sauce.

I mean there are already enough carrots in the rice so why accompany it with more vegetables?

Sigh.

That's a theory I'd never get to understand.

For the next ten minutes, I watch with fascination as Natalie eats her food.

Her brown hair framed her perfectly round face and cascaded past her shoulders gloriously.

Her plump lips set into a thin line as she savors the taste of the food.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

I smile, knowing I'm the cause of such excitement.

"Cam?" She calls out snapping me out of my daze.

"Hmm?"

"You're staring" she comments.

"Because I'd rather have you for dinner than eat this lousy food. You're much tastier and delicious and contain a lot of vitamins that are good for my health"

She burst out laughing. The sound of her laughter was like a perfect melody.

"You'd say anything just to get me in your bed for the second time today won't you?"

"What can I say? You're irresistible" I shrug and she giggles.

"Your libido baffles me, Cameron. I could never keep up with you" she takes a sip of her juice and bites her lips, just to tease me.

"Don't tempt me, sweetheart, else I wouldn't mind taking you against the wall and the entire building will hear you scream my name as I make you come"

Her eyes widen at my words, a blush rising on her cheeks.

Biting her lips she goes back to her food.

Natalie is always loud and I love to shut her up, my way.

I smirk as she tries to desperately avoid my eyes, hiding her face with her hair.

Oh, how I love this woman.

***

"Son. Son!"

"What?!" I bark and turn to find my mother beside me.

"You need to change your clothes son. You know how allergic you are to rain" she tells me but I tune out.

I don't need lecturing.

It's seven pm now and I'm home, standing In front of our gate, holding on to the little thread of hope that Natalie might show up.

I'm still drenched in my suit.

To hell with allergy.

I couldn't give a bleeping f*ck right now.

Maybe later when I'm dying.

I stare out at the road.

Still no sign of her car.

"Stop punishing yourself like this Cameron, please. She's not worth it"

"Mother please do not bad mouth Natalie. I'm sure there's a tangible explanation as to why she didn't show up for our wedding. She might be hurt somewhere" even I can't seem to believe my own words at this point.

Because it's easier to deny than admit the truth.

For how long I'm going to keep denying it, I have no idea.

"And you think someone wouldn't have called to tell you? Answer me, Cameron!"

"Perhaps she might be stranded.."

"Oh shut up Cameron! Stranded? What bride arrives at her wedding alone? Surely her parents were with her, her bridesmaids, and even the driver. Surely someone would have called if anything had happened don't you think? do Or you think she's still stuck in traffic? Then that must be one hell of traffic, don't you think?. Wake up Cam, wake the hell up! Everything is as clear as day. That girl left you. She left you at the f*cking alter without a f*cking word, when will you face the f*cking reality that she left you?!" I visibly flinch at my mother's harsh words.

Tears burning my eyes.

I refuse to cry.

I refuse.

"Cameron! Cameron!" My best friend calls, running to stand beside me.

"What?"

"Natalie" he breathes holding up his phone in my face.

That was it.

That one word was enough to send my heart racing.

"What happened? What happened to Natalie? Tell me, Julian!" I grab him by the shoulders shaking him vigorously.

He doesn't reply, making me run mad.

"Tell me to damn it! Tell me!"

"She left!"

I let go of him abruptly, stumbling back in shock, blinking rapidly.

"W..what?"

"She left Cam. She left the country with your brother. They got married today and left"

As soon as those words leave his mouth, my eyes automatically shift to rest on the phone he was holding up.

And nothing could have been more heartbreaking and suicidal than this.

Right there on that screen, was Natalie wearing the very same wedding dress I had chosen for her when she'd sent me samples to choose from and my brother, my younger brother was wearing an unmistakably expensive tuxedo.

The same tuxedo I had bought for him as a birthday present earlier this year.

They were standing at the spot for departures at the airport.

My brother's arms around Natalie's waist, their suitcases beside them.

And...

And they were kissing like there was no tomorrow.

****

SKYLAR'S POV

GHC 5. Pfft!

That's all I've managed to make since I came to sit here at six in the morning. Damn it.

Five cedis. Five damn cedis? That's all? Hah! I slap the coins into my purse irritably as I slump into my wooden seat and begin to arrange my fruits angrily.

Just five cedis? Ah God!. Somebody shoot me now.

It's 2 pm now and all I could make was five cedis? What will five CEDIs do for me? And to think these rich people are more generous.

Pfft! Scratch that.

The rich people in this vicinity are as stingy as stingy can get.

I had purposely brought my stuff here to sell because I knew most of the rich people in town lived around here.

And I thought such people loved how they looked so they would do anything to keep fit and in shape.

Hereby, my healthy fruits come to the rescue.

But turns out these stupid rich people would rather spend their money buying pills and undergo plastic surgery that'll give them the six-pack abs and hourglass figure and popping skin than buy fruits.

"Hey! Hey, you! Are you f*cking deaf?!"

A deep voice cusses, making me lift my head sharply.

"Are you here to sell or sleep?"

The man asks with disgust laced in his voice which he doesn't bother to hide. I bite my lip hard, praying to the heavens my tongue doesn't slip else I would have given him the insult of his life.

"I need oranges worth three cedis and some pineapples"

the man continues.

"How much Sir?"

I ask as politely as I can.

The man glares at me

"Apart from being stinky and poor, I didn't know you were deaf too. Why would you bother to sell when you're deaf?"

Dear God, give me strength.

Give me strength. I pray silently.

I'm so tempted to pick up this pineapple and bash his head in with it.

I f*cking swear.

"I meant the pineapple sir. How much worth of pineapples do you need?"

"How much is this?" He points to the bigger pineapples.

"Three cedis Sir"

"Give me two of that"

I nod and proceed to package the items in a customized polythene bag I had bought purposely for such people else I'm pretty sure this man here would have no problem chewing my head off if I dared give him his fruits in plain black polythene.

"Would you like me to peel it, sir?"

I ask grabbing my knife.

"No!"

He shouts as though I had just asked for permission to shoot him the balls.

"God knows if you've disinfected that knife. Just pack it up for me"

I bite my lip harder.

I swear if murder wasn't a crime, I would have murdered this rude, potbellied, rich ass man, butchered him, and sold his meat in a cold store.

I'm sure I'd get so much money from his meat that probably contains fat.

Done, I give him the fruits and he hands me the money before trudging away..

I count.

F*cking man.

Upon all the rudeness he couldn't even have the decency to give me a tip..

He gave me exactly the amount.

Would it have killed him to give me some tip? Stingy ass people.

Stingy old potbellied man.

I push the money into my purse and begin to pack up. I need to get home before the clock strikes three-thirty.

***

The moment I stepped into my single-room apartment, I hear the familiar honking of the school bus and I know what's next.

"Mummy!"

Little footsteps stomp their way into the house.

I turn to grin at my little bundle of joy, all my worries from earlier shrinking away into oblivion.

"Hey, little man. Did you enjoy school?"

"Yes.. Yes!"

He nods excitedly.

I chuckle, bending to his height, and proceed to take his school bag off and then take off his uniform.

I can't have him soiling it.

There's not enough water for washing until Tuesday In this neighborhood.

He'll probably have to wear it again on Monday after I've dry cleaned it.

"Okay, little man are you hungry?"

I ask though I already know what his answer is going to be.

I sigh, getting up as I walk to the fridge, take out the leftover orange juice I had made yesterday.

Pour into a cup and add a few biscuits.

I had wanted to drink this last cup of orange juice and prepare something before my son gets home but I guess luck isn't really on my side. I'll just have to settle for one of the oranges or watermelons.

"Eat this Sean. Mummy will go prepare you something yummy to eat yeah?"

He only nods, takes the glass of juice and biscuits, and proceeds to eat turning his attention to the TV that looked like it was about to fall apart any minute.

I blink back tears as I make my way to the kitchen, wondering what to prepare for dinner and probably breakfast tomorrow.

What can I do? It's just me and Sean.

No parents, no siblings, and no extended family members that I know of.

I barely made ten cedis today and it's not enough to put a decent meal on the table.

Except of course, if I decide on noodles or spaghetti and I'm not ready to subject my son to be eating junk food all the time.

I'm just glad my son didn't turn out to be whiny and demanding like other kids.

He was always content with whatever I gave him and never asked questions.

I bite my lip, looking around the kitchen suddenly remembering we still have some leftover tomato stew from yesterday.

I contemplate on making jollof rice with some eggs but then I change my mind because making jollof rice means I'll have to use up all the stew.

I sigh..

I guess I'll have to settle for rice and stew then.

At least I could manage the stew with the rice.

***

Later at night when I've managed to put Sean to sleep, I lean back against the headboard thinking about my life like I do every single night.

I know what you must be thinking.

That why is a twenty-four-year-old lady taking care of a three-year-old boy all by herself.

Yep, I'm only 24 and I have a son.

I'm an orphan too might I add.

My story isn't something to write home about.

At all.

I get questioning stares everywhere I go just because I'm a single mother. Being a single mother doesn't bother me.

Not one bit. I love my son to death.

I do love him but the problem is I do not know who his father is.

I spend every night and day wondering if he'll ever show up.

Wondering what he looks like.

Wondering if he knows he got me pregnant.

Wondering if his child is alive somewhere.

Wondering if he's searching for us maybe.

No, I'm not a slut or a prostitute if that's what you're thinking.

I'm neither of these.

The truth is a bitter pill to swallow.

It's something that jerks me awake every night wondering who Sean's father is.

Because believe it or not, I only realized I was pregnant after four months when I went for a check-up because I was getting too sick often. I had realized I had been gaining a few pounds too.

I had literally fainted when the doctor had pronounced me four months pregnant.

Hell! I thought the doctor was playing some stupid April fool's trick on me but no.

I had ordered another test because damn, I could never accept that fact, which by the way turned out positive too.

To say I was flabbergasted is an understatement.

I was shocked to the bone. I was in shock for an entire month.

You may think I might be exaggerating but wait until I tell you why.

The problem is, I've never.

And when I say never, I mean never ever ever in my life had sexual intercourse.

Yes, I've never slept with a man before. And yes, you guessed right.

I got pregnant while I was a Virgin.

A 100% virgin girl with her hymen still intact.

I was carrying a child yet I had no idea how it happened.

Because I was a Virgin and yet... Yet I had a son.

But that's not at all.

No.

Aside from being a fruit seller and a virgin mother, I'm also a spy and a con artist.

Yes, as shameful as this sounds, I work as a spy for the most notorious gang leader you could ever come across. And how I became a spy, it's a long-ass story.