Michael couldn’t believe his ears, he couldn’t come to terms with what had just happened, “am I going crazy?” He thought to himself, “is she playing games? Could she be serious? Lord please let this be a prank” he prayed silently, as his feet gave way and he landed to the ground with his bum. He sat outside the church on the floor with his head in his hands. It wasn’t too long before Chinedu came looking for him outside. “What’s taking you so lo-” he began to say but stopped in his tracks and kept quiet staring in disbelief when he saw Michael sitting on the floor, “are you alright? What are you doing on the floor?” He was finally able to say after he recovered from his shock, Michael ignored him and continued to look down at the floor with his head in his hands.
“Why are you acting weird? Say something” Chinedu said, shaking Michael by his two shoulders, as Michael remained silent, staring into space. Michael’s mother came out shortly afterwards to find out why he hadn’t returned, “what is wrong? Why is he on the floor?” She asked Chinedu as she bent down to speak to Michael, “is everything ok? Are you developing cold feet?” She asked, but Michael remained silent, “you need to shake whatever it is that’s bothering you off, we can always deal with it later, right now, we have a wedding ceremony to attend” she said attempting to drag Michael up with much difficulty. Chinedu immediately came to her aid and helped to pull Michael up but it was like trying to make a newborn baby stand, Michael just wouldn’t stand.
“What is really happening?” His mother began jumping around and panicking, “what is happening to my son?” She said throwing off her shoes, “he has refused to talk to me” Chinedu explained looking puzzled. Shortly after, his father came out, “what is going on here?” He asked looking surprised to see his wife without her shoes and Michael sitting on the floor, “Michael has been acting strange in the last few minutes, he has refused to speak to us” Chinedu explained, “Michael what is this nonsense behaviour that you’re exhibiting today of all days? Everyone is inside waiting for you and your wife is extremely late” he said, “she’s not coming” Michael finally replied, “who is not coming?” His mother shouted bending to look directly at him, “there is no wedding, she deceived me” was all Michael could say, “who are you talking about?” His mother replied “what are you saying?” His father added, “Did Irene call off the wedding?” Chinedu asked, Michael simply nodded in response. He was too shocked to speak further.
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“My God” his mum screamed after she realised what was going on, “I am finished” she said jumping up and down like a kangaroo, “how do I go back and face all my guests?” She continued, “my enemies are seriously at work” she cried.
Eventually, Chinedu was sent to inform the priest about the latest developments. The priest announced that the wedding had been called off due to unforeseen circumstances to the amazement of all the guests.
For the next couple of days, Michael mostly stayed in bed, he refused to eat or drink anything. He had so many huge debts lying ahead and had no idea how he would clear them. Loans from different banks, loans from friends, loans from family members and even outstanding balances of wedding bills to be paid. It would take him many months to be able to pay back the money but his contract with most of his creditors was to pay back within 6 months. It was only a matter of time before they would all start demanding their money back.
His mother feared that he could develop a deep vein thrombosis because of the amount of time he spent lying still in bed. Deep vein thrombosis(DVT) happens when a blood clot forms in one or more deep veins in the body, it happens commonly in the legs and sometimes results in pain and swelling. Sometimes, people with DVT don’t experience any symptoms. Your risk for DVT is increased when you don’t move your legs for a long time, for example when you are driving or on a long flight or long term bed rest. People who smoke, take birth control pills, older individuals and pregnant women are at a higher risk of having deep vein thrombosis. Deep vein thrombosis can become life-threatening if the clot travels from the leg to the blood vessels in the lungs causing a blockage which can lead to difficulty breathing and death if immediate medical action is not taken. One of the ways that you can prevent DVT is by moving and stretching your legs frequently.
About a week later, Michael slowly recovered from his trauma but his debts were still a major burden that he was carrying. Chinedu called him out of the blue and told him that Sugar had come to his office at the airport to purchase a ticket to Canada, he informed Michael that she was scheduled to leave in the evening the next day.
“Bro, this is your chance to right your wrongs, go and beg her now before she leaves, or else, kiss her goodbye for good” Chinedu advised before hanging up.
It was about 11pm at night, only an hour before midnight, Michael did not think twice about what Chinedu advised, he immediately picked his car keys and ran out to his car, “at least if I can’t get USA, I should still be able to get Canada. If she can file for me immediately she gets there, I will be able to escape this debt on my head” he thought as he drove hastily to her apartment.
In a couple of minutes, he was standing in front of the door of Sugar’s apartment, he rang the doorbell and patiently waited for her to answer. “Who can that possibly be by this time of the night?” Sugar thought to herself as she made her way towards the door, “who’s there?” She called, hoping to get a response, but Michael remained silent. “She opened the door to see who it was only to find Michael kneeling down looking sober, “Baby, I’m sorry for all the pain I caused you” he began, “I was stupid, I was foolish and I was deceived by that evil woman,please forgive me.”
Find out what happens next in episode 18
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