To Be A Lover: I’ll Accept Your Apology on One Condition
Milo had barely stepped into the house when he noticed Tiolu sitting on the couch, legs stretched out, watching the TV. He furrowed his brows and checked his wristwatch.
3:12PM.
He had left work earlier than usual and didn’t think that there would be anybody at home. He dropped his bag and walked towards the freezer.
“You are home early” he commented.
Tiolu turned to him, “I didn’t leave the house today”
He frowned. “You didn’t go to work?”
“No.”
“Why? Did something happen”
Tiolu exhaled loudly, “Well Fifi told me not to come to work for the rest of the week, in fact till further notice.”
Milo paused, “She told you not to come to work physically?”
“Yes, Milo. She told me on Tuesday and said to do all my editing at home. I’ve had to upload some of her videos on cloud for her to access them.”
Milo swallowed hard. Tuesday was the day the picture had gone viral, he day he had called Fifi and said several things he now wished he could take back.
“Oh.”
Tiolu gave her full attention to her elder brother, “Tanya told me she had been in a foul mood since Tuesday. She even called her podcast recording with like two guests. In her words, she’s been very irritable.”
Milo’s fingers paused as he unscrewed the bottle of cold water, he took two large gulps while Tiolu continued speaking.
“I think the whole scandal and the pictures really annoyed her. With people further speculating if you were her new boyfriend or something and all of that”
Milo took another gulp of the bottle of water but Tiolu didn’t notice. She was too busy trying to tell her brother everything that had happened.
“Honestly, I feel bad for her. All these gossip logs have too much time on their hands, they also know that anything about Fifi is bound to trend so anything that concerns her is immediately blown up. What happened was terrible. Her ex-boyfriend had harassed her, someone saved her, what makes them think that the best thing to do was to turn it to a relationship scandal? Even she kept what actually happened private”
Milo almost laughed at himself in mockery. Even his younger sister didn’t believe or think that Fifi would have such used such a vulnerable moment for attention and yet he had thought so and believed so.
“The most annoying people were the ones who started saying she leaked the picture herself for publicity and for cover up her scandal with her ex. Are they for real? Can you imagine?” Tiolu shook her head and stared at her brother.
“Thank God Fifi took down those bogs quickly before anyone found out who you were. Tanya said two blogs were trying to act funny and she directly sued them. They have to pay about 2million each in damages”
Milo emptied the bottle of water and turned to his sister, “She sued them?”
Tiolu nodded, “Yup. She sued them” and then continued, “I honestly don’t understand people. Fifi has millions of followers, a really loyal and solid fanbase. She had a solid career, she has everything. What would she need a random picture with a man for? It’s not as if she struggles to get attention. Stupid and silly people”
Milo looked away and bit down on his lower lip. He wondered how his younger sister would feel knowing that the people she was talking about and insulting that he was one of them.
He grabbed his bag where he dropped it and immediately headed up the staircase.
“Should I warm your food for you?” Tiolu called after him.
“No, I’m not hungry”
He pushed the door of his room open and threw his bag on the bed. As he unbuttoned his shirt, guilt settled down in his chest.
He has been wrong, terribly wrong.
He had realized that it back then when Fifi had called him back and spoken to him so harshly that he had been dumbfounded. He knew that he had gotten everything wrong.
Milo wasn’t an irrational person. He liked to think things through before acting or speaking. He usually considered the possible outcomes of his decisions, weighed his options, and usually lied to wait until he had calmed down before making his judgement on any issue.
The case with Fifi had been an exception. He usually would have texted her and asked her what happened. That would have been the logical thing to do. He should have asked if her team was behind her and they would have discussed how to get the situation under control.
But being sudden thrust into the spotlight had made him intensely uncomfortable and worse Sarah and Amaka’s comments about Fifi using him had gotten to his head. The silly questions his colleagues kept asking, the multiple theories both online and offline had pushed him and the thought that someone might have deliberately put him in that position had infuriated him.
In the process, he lost his head and spoke in such an uncouth manner to her. He slumped into his bed remembering the things he had said to her.
Milo closed his eyes and remembered the way she had sounded when she called him back. She had sounded so angry, even more infuriated than he was. The disbelief in her voice and the rudeness had left him alarmed.
It was clear that whatever he thought had happened wasn’t the truth. True to her words, nearly all the posts had disappeared and the internet had moved onto something else, typically.
He was at a loss and didn’t know what to do. Listening to Tiolu tell him what had happened, he felt like an absolute fool.
How could he have judged her so harshly?
How could he have insulted her career?
He suddenly remembered how she had pushed him into the room so that he wouldn’t be trending online because she knew he hated attention. Even knowing that, how could he have thought that she had uploaded the picture deliberately and that she was using him to cover up a scandal?
He rolled to face the wall, “Idiot,” he muttered.
He remained in bed, uncomfortable and guilt ridden for the rest of the evening. His attempt at continued his series was futile.
At some point, he picked up his phone and opened her contact. He stared at text box and wondered how to apologize. The last message was him acknowledging Fifi’s text when she had initially texted him to let him know that she had gotten his number from Tiolu in case of emergencies.
He wondered if maybe a simple apology would solve the issue or he had to call her to apologize properly.
His thumb hovered over the call button for several minutes without moving.
What was he supposed to say?
Every apology in his head sounded pathetic or stupid. If he went through with any of them, the possibly that he would be aggravating the situation was high.
He typed a message, his hands moving over the keyboard.
Hi, Fifi. I wanted to apologise for —
He paused and cleared the message. He tried to type a text again and ended up clearing the text box again. He dropped the phone onto his bed and dragged a hand down his face.
How difficult could an apology possibly be?
It was all his fault for saying such words to a totally innocent person in the first place. He needed to apologize but he had no idea how to go through with it. If it was anybody else, maybe it wouldn’t be hard but for Fifi; he just couldn’t bring himself to.
A part of him felt like Fifi could have even blocked him already. He closed his eyes with a low sigh; he would figure it out tomorrow.
However, the next morning, Tiolu woke up feeling as though someone had poured hot water into her body. Her head ached, her throat felt scratchy, and every part of her seemed determined to make getting out of bed impossible and it immediately worried everyone at home.
“Will you manage to get into your clothes and let’s go to the hospital?” her mother asked.
Tiolu winced, “Hospital? It’s probably just malaria or a fever. There’s no need to be dramatic. Just give me malaria drugs, I’ll be fine after I rest”
Milo eyed her, “Get dressed and allow Mommy to take you to the hospital. What if it’s not malaria or fever? Get properly treated”
Tiolu tried to snort at him but failed so she just ignored him.
Milo turned to their mother, “Mommy, just take her to the hospital. And I’ll warm some tea or make oats for her so she can get something in her stomach”
Their mother nodded, “Alright. Thank you, Milo. I’ll help her get dressed up”
Milo turned to leave but Tiolu stopped him, “I’m supposed to drop the hard drives containing the edited videos for Fifi today”
Milo blinked, “Oh”
“Could you help me send it to her? I’ll give you directions to her house” Tiolu said weakly.
Milo immediately shook his head, “No. I’ll use Indrive courier”
Tiolu frowned and just before she spoke got into a coughing fit, “Help me nau. Using those couriers for something like that is risky. You just have to drive over and give it to her”
Their mother patted her back, “Don’t worry. Let’s get you dressed up. Your brother will help you out”
Tiolu nodded as she grabbed her phone and dialed Fifi’s number, she stretched the phone to her elder brother, “Speak to her”
Milo collected the phone with tremblingly hands, “How about you speak to her yourself?” he asked.
“In this state?” Their mother asked and just then Fifi picked the call.
“Hey Tiolu, good morning and how are you?” Fifi’s voice rang in Milo’s ears and he nearly turned rigid on the spot.
“Hi Fifi, this is Milo”
The line went silent for a few seconds, “Oh. How may I help you?”
Milo bit on his lower lip noticing the change in Fifi’s tone the moment he told her it wasn’t Tiolu.
“Tiolu woke up with a really high temperature and most likely a fever. My mom need to take her to the hospital but Tiou said she’s supposed to send the hard drives to you today. I wanted to let you know that ‘ll be bringing them later today and if you could send me your address”
“Oh, sorry about that. I hope Tiolu is okay”
“She will be okay. It’s most likely malaria”
“Alright. I’ll send my address to your dm. Please give my regards to Tiolu’
“I will”
The call ended and Milo realized that his palms were sweaty. He chuckled as he gave his younger sister back her phone.
“Let me go and make your oats” He said and walked out of the room.
Milo took his time before driving to Fifi’s house, Fifi had sent the address to him and it looked easy to locate. He wasn’t surprised to find out that she lived a private estate that required them to put a call across to Fifi before he was let into the estate.
He didn’t know the kind of house he had been expecting Fifi to be living in but he certainly didn’t expect a house with the fence almost as tall as the house itself. He was yet to horn at the gate when the gateman opened the gate.
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Milo who had planned to just hand over the drives to her was forced to drive into the compound and he was wowed. The house was huge, spacious enough to contain another duplex like the one he was staring at.
The gateman was back in his house by the time Milo got out of the car. He looked around at the well-trimmed grass and pot flowers before making his way towards the front door. He sucked in a breadth as he pressed the doorbell.
Another reason why he had wanted to come was so that he could use the opportunity to apologise to her. He had no idea how the conversation would go or what he was going to say but he knew that this was his best chance to apologise to her.
He had to apologise, even if he had to make a fool of himself doing it.
Fifi opened the door and Milo swallowed.
“Good morning”
“Good morning”
“Come in” Fifi said and opened the door wider for him to come in.
Milo walked into the house and couldn’t help but notice how good the house smelt. He wondered what kind of diffuser she used. He stepped further into the house and notice dhow neat everywhere was.
Fifi was dressed in a simple gown and her hair was packed to the back. She had a blank expression on her face and it was hard to detect what she was thinking.
Milo immediately brought out the hard drives Tiolu had given him and stretched it towards her, “Here”
Fifi took them from him and nodded, “Thank you”
There was a bout of silence between them and Mio licked his lips, his pals getting sweaty.
“Fifi — ”
Fifi placed the hard drives on the table next to her and turned to Milo, “Yes?”
“I’m sorry” the words came out rather naturally.
Milo raised his head to meet Fifi’s calm gaze.
“I’m sorry for accusing you on Tuesday. That call……” he trailed off, “was one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made in my life and I have no excuses”
“I was wrong to have spoken to you that way. I — ”
Fifi still had a blank look on her face and Milo groaned inwardly, his apology had probably come too late and she clearly not making this easy for him, and he couldn’t blame her.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated, “I have no excuses. I should have directly asked you what happened instead of making assumptions, instead of thinking that what everyone on the internet was saying is true. It is true that I don’t know you enough but I know enough to have known that you wouldn’t have done so. I’m really sorry”
Fifi folded her arms, “Is that all?”
Milo opened his mouth and then closed it. He definitely should have called her the night before and apologise. Now his apology meant nothing.
“I hope you accept my apology” he finally said after a while.
Fifi shrugged, “Well, apology not accepted”
Milo swallowed and nodded, “Understood”
Fifi shrugged and pouted, “I’ll accept your apology on one condition”
Milo’s eyes lit up immediately, “On what condition?”
Fifi met his gaze, “Take me out for food”
Milo stared at her, dazed, “Food?”
Fifi nodded her head, “Yes, food”
Milo tried not to laugh, “You’ll really forgive me if I take you out for food?”
Fifi nodded, “Exactly. Unless you don’t know how to take a woman out?”
“Of course, I can”
“So, when are you taking me out for food?”
Milo chuckled, “Tell me when you have time. I’ll arranged everything”
As if he had said a magic word, Milo watched as a smile spread across Fifi’s face, bright and unrestrained, and she let out a little laugh.
“I’ll be looking forward to it”
Milo was stunned. Fifi’s was extremely beautiful whenever she smiled and it took a few seconds to shake off his dazedness but he also managed a small smile.
“Do you have a particular place in mind?” he asked.
Fifi shook her head, “No. You can choose and you better choose somewhere else. That way, I’ll quickly forgive you”
Milo was amused, “Alright. Understood”
Fifi raised a brow, “Till then? I’m still angry with you.”
Milo nodded affirmatively, “Understood”
There was a minute of silence before Milo spoke up again, “Thank you. I’ll get going”
“Have a good day”
“You too”
Milo turned and walked out of the house. He heard Fifi close the door behind him and almost thought he heard a squeal but when he turned back, he heard or saw nothing.
The moment he started the car; the gateman came out of the house and opened the gate. Milo reversed and drove out.
He chuckled and shook his head. Fifi was a very strange person. He had imagined them exchanging words, he had expected her to even throw her nose in the air at him, what he didn’t expect was for the conversation to end with a date.
Milo’s thoughts came crashing immediately and he almost slammed on the break.
Date?
He cautioned his thoughts immediately. He remembered Fifi’s words and immediately grabbed his phone and called his best friend. The ringing was loud in the car because the phone was connected to the car’s Bluetooth.
Victor picked up on the second ring, “Heyy, what’s up?”
Milo turned a corner, “I’m good. I need a favour”
“A favour? Alright, what is it?”
Milo licked his lips, “I need recommendations.”
“For what?”
“Restaurants.”
There was a pause on the other end of the call and then Victor laughed.
“Restaurants?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of restaurants are we talking about?” Victor asked and then paused, “I think I’m asking the wrong questions here. Why do you need a restaurant?”
Milo tightened his grip on the steering wheel, “I need to apologize to someone and she said she would only take my apology if I take her out for food”
Victor went silent and Milo could practically hear the gears turning in his best friend’s head.
“Someone?”
“Yes, Victor. Someone.”
“Hmmm, interesting. Specifications?”
“I need somewhere nice. Somewhere we can eat and talk without too much noise.”
Victor chuckled, “Mr. Tomilola Johnson, who are you taking out?”
Milo pursed his lips, trying to suppress the smile spreading across his face, “Who do you think?”
There was a brief silence before Victor replied, “Don’t tell me it’s Firefunmi Dele-Ajayi?”
Milo pressed his lips together to suppress the smile but it didn’t help and a laugh escaped his throat, “The one and only.”
“Damn Milo. Damnnnn” Victor cooed, “You stay single for years and then you go ahead and get the attention of one of the most beautiful and baddest girl in Nigeria? You are too good”
Milo chuckled, “Don’t get it twisted, I’m apologising”
Victor laughed softly, “Right. You fucked up and she said she wants you take her out for food and you really think you are apologising?” he laughed again, “Don’t be slow”
Milo chuckled, “Give me the recommendations”
“No recommendations I give you will be good enough for Fifi bro. She has been to more than enough restaurants that you have heard of in your life. But I think I have the perfect place for you”
Milo nodded, “Don’t state the obvious. Send me the details”
“Alright man. I do envy you”
Milo laughed, “Just shut up”
They both burst into laughter. Milo wished he could explain why he had a smile on his face or why he felt the way he was feeling but he couldn’t.
The guilt and knot that had plagued his chest for the past few days had not only loosened but disappeared entirely.
“I already sent the details to you. You better make it worth”
“I will”
