Jude returned to his house and met Shanty on the bed with the laptop in-between her legs as she went on to press it. After a while she raised her head up to look at the one standing on the door and it was Jude. She rose in excitement and rushed to welcome him home. He stared at her for a while and forced a smile. One thing with Shanty, she always knew when some things aren't alright. She glared at him for a while before she went inside to bring him some water to drink. When he had taken the water he sank on a sofa and kept looking at her fine figure. He knew she was a very beautiful woman but it wasn't all about the beauty that triggers him but about her personality; she was a very dedicated person and he could only begin to imagine how wrong he had been all the while he thought not beneficial of her. He forced a smile again and this time she got fed of being expressionaly lied to and so she folded her arms and demanded to know what the problem was.
"What is happening to you; can I know please?" she demanded.
"What do you mean by that my dear?" he asked.
"Just stop forcing a smile on me and tell me what the problem is. I know quite alright that there are many things which you would like to tell me and believe me I'm ready to hear it. You did not keep me here as a fancy but as someone you can talk to when you are depressed or bothered" he stared at her and wondered why the word depressed would be so easy for her to say. He adjusted himself and said, "I met with the boss this afternoon" she sat down, folded her arms and obviously waiting for him to finish. He made some remarks that I did not find pleasing" she continued to wait for more and he wondered what she was expecting to hear next. He stood up and started to undress.
"He doesn't want me in the organization?" she asked and he did not respond.
"If it is so then I can just walk away" she said but didn't mean it.
"You need to know that it is not as simple as you think. There are things are must be done" he said and she was suspicious of him. She rose from where she was seated and wanted to know what he was saying and where he was driving at.
"What exactly is the matter?" she wanted to know.
"Boss doesn't want you around me, and that will serve as prove of my loyalty to him and to the family" he said and she waited for a while as if she was waiting for him to conclude but seeing he was no longer saying a thing she stood up and paced before she stopped and wanted to know; "Why?" she asked.
"Because he believes you are a distraction" he said and she smiled unbelievably.
"I don't think you heard him right. If this is the case I will have to meet with him" said Shanty and Jude looked up at her, wondering if she was in her right senses. He stood up and walked up to her and said, "You don't need to be mean or mad at anyone. I will handle this. He is the boss and his eyes is everywhere. If you make any move he will know"
"He will know because he will find out; he will know because you have sold your soul to him, he will know because you can never have a life of yours but have been tied to him for life. Tell me Jude, before you became part of this family what was your plan, I mean what did you have in mind to become; what was the plan all about?"
"I never had a plan for myself Shanty and I told you who my mother was. A man, a boy whose mother was a prostitute has no choice but to have no choice. You see, it was right there in the slump that Boss discovered me. I was on the streets and he found me and insisted he was going to ensure I became part of his organization. He practically trained me and gave me my first gun. I tell you by the enablement of what I believe in that there is nothing I would have been able to achieve if he had not come my way"
"Lies" she blurted and he wondered why she had to say that. "I repeat lies, you should know better than to say that; there is no man on earth who would want to do better that wouldn't be able to do if they wished, even without the help of any. Destinies are destinies; they can be delayed buy they can't be denied and that is exactly what you are supposed to know. What makes you think that there is nothing anyone could have done for you had it been boss didn't come your way?. Your mind was already configured to believe this lie; to believe that you couldn't have become anything if you had not met with Mr Charles but the truth is that you could have become a better person if you had not met him. You think I suddenly became a prostitute? No, I became what I became because of the influence of the friends I kept and the choices that I made. I could have been a better person if I had made choices differently. Do not blame me when you see that I'm trying to make this work but know that it will be your fault if you did not contribute to the very thing that could make us work" she was saying. These words from her made Jude sink again on a seat and kept glaring at her.
"What exactly do you suggest that I do?" he asked.
"Good question" she said and walked up to him and sat beside him, "Inform boss that I would like to speak with him. I know that if I could get his listening ears he would hear what I have to say" she said.
"You don't expect me to create an avenue to have a meeting with him without you telling me exactly what you want to discuss with him" he was saying and Shanty smiled, holding the back of his head she romantically said, "Well, you need not hear it until he calls you to tell you what I discussed with him"
"No, I can't take such a risk; what if you go there and begin to say things you should not say; how am I going to convince him that you didn't mean the things you said?" he was saying while shaking his head disapprovingly. Shanty then stood up from his leg and walked towards the kitchen where she was going to serve them dinner. When she had served it she sat down and he too sat.
"Let's eat love, when we reach that bridge we will cross it" she said and he continued to watch her suspiciously as she ate.
That same evening Shanty picked her phone and dialed a number. Having answered that call she had a meeting outside the house with a strange man and they discussed briefly before she retired into the house where she met Jude still sleeping comfortably. She laid back and slept.
The next day she paid a visit to the office where Mr Charles was working and she headed to his office only to be stopped by a security.
"I'm Jude's fiancee" she said.
"It's not written on your face and you can't enter until Jude calls in" the security insisted and Shanty dialed Jude's number and handed the phone to the security man. The security man having to ask Jude learnt that Jude was not aware of what Shanty was doing but he wasn't going to stop her from concluding what she already started. He had already concluded that if whatever she was going to tell Charles did not sit well with him he was going to defend her regardless. When the door to the office where Charles was seated was opened he looked up and saw his men enter with Shanty and then they both were dismissed by Charles. Charles then looked through the window to see if Jude's car was packed outside but he did not see hence concluding that Shanty must have come to the company alone.
"To what do I owe this visit Shanty?" he asked.
"Jude's freedom. He is no longer interested in your family and he wants a call off" she said and dropped Jude's resignation letter. Charles picked it and went through it. He could actually see the signature of Jude on it and it was no doubt that he signed it. He dropped the letter on the table and said to Shanty, "You know why I let those men who brought you in here to leave without having to take you with them? Because I respect Jude alot and I respect what you share with him. But you see it is so childish of Jude to write me a resignation letter, sending it to me through you" he smiled wickedly and then stood up. He walked to the door and bolted the door and then turning to Shanty he said, "I know that somehow you have had to discuss alot with Jude and he must have told you stories which in turn you told him stories as well. There are many stories to be told, especially love stories and I always pray that a time would come when I will tell my own moonlight stories with someone so special. I understand, believe me I do and I'm not judging you or trying to make you feel like you didn't make the right choice choosing Jude as your partner but you see what this company stands against is a stab on the back. Jude should have told you in one of those stories he told you about himself that it was where he was almost dying on the street that I found him and decided to save his life. You do know that such a person should be grateful to his saviour all his life?"
"Saviour? You ruined the innocent boy's life and you speak of how you helped him? You did not help Jude. He was a victim of a bad foundation as well as myself and we are no longer ready to continue to toll the road of crime with you. You have done enough for him, for us and now we want to call it quits" said Shanty with all seriousness.