Juwon went through the document Roman had sent. Apparently, Gini was living with her sister and her three kids. He remembered seeing her around before she got admission into the university, that was some years before Gini noticed him. He couldn't recall what they called her back then but he knew she was wild. She was always in every dance competition in town and she used to date this guy in a famous dance crew. He noticed Roman added that she worked in a strip club. With three kids, she had to. Her boyfriend must have impregnated her and ghosted, that happened quite a lot with boys their age.

Juwon stayed stuck on her page and reread the little information about her that Roman had provided. He was nervous to flip the page and read about Gini. When he finally did, he saw her picture first. Her hair was long in the picture but it had been cropped when he saw her in the church. He looked at her rosy lips which shone in the picture and rubbed his eyes. He used to imagine that lips doing things to him when he was fourteen.

He remembered the first time he noticed Gini in school. They were in the same examination hall and she'd been two seats away from him. Their school used to put students from different classes in the same exam hall, this was done to minimize giraffine amongst students from the same class. Juwon had been distracted by her beauty immediately she was assigned her seat. Her face was long and her nose was pointy, she had mono lids that made her look so innocent and pretty. Whenever she walked to her seat, he stared. He knew she was one of the best dancers in contemporary dance class and her body showed it. She was willowy and walked like a swan.

He had tried to get her attention then and nothing worked. When he got into a new class, he totally forgot all about her. He had been going through puberty and his raging hormones were all over the place. He'd regained a new confidence in himself that wasn't there before. He played more instruments and got the girls attention with his talent. His father had once told him women found intelligence sexy and he ran with the advice. As his voice got croaky and he grew taller, he became more visible to his fellow mates. He made more male friends and joined a clique.

Juwon was in the music room one afternoon oppressing his friends with his abilities and they were teasing him mercilessly. He'd gotten the cello and played wonderfully and they'd jealously found a fault with him knowing how to play so many instruments. It was when Gini called him a genius he realized she was in the room. His heart beat raced as a clueless fourteen-year-old boy would. Her compliment massaged his pride and his head swole. They became fast friends after that, and he would walk her home after school then eat whatever she bought him for lunch.

Soon, his pants started getting tight whenever she was around. He couldn't control his sexual desires anymore and started jerking off to the thought of her. He'd been such a horny bastard and his friends made matters worse by supplying him with unlimited amount of porn. When they first made out, he'd seen stars. He would mimic everything he saw in the porn he watched and he'd smile in victory at her reaction. She was very responsive to him as he was to her. They used to talk about sex all the time and how they were hot for each other.

His mistake had been believing every bunch of shit she uttered. Back then, he didn't know she was playing him. She never stopped showering him with compliments and he never got tired of hearing them. She boosted his confidence so much and their little relationship was like drug to his system. Who could blame him, he had been a boy lacking motherly attention.

His mom had left when he was eleven. When his dad lost his job from his alcohol addiction, she decided to take a job out of town to make more cash. She'd been hit by a train a month later, and just like that she was out of their lives. His father drank more and he learnt to take care of himself.

When Gini came around, she'd given him everything he wasn't getting from home. She'd force him to eat her lunch even when he protested. His friends had been so jealous of their relationship. It was young love but he was sure they'd end up together. She'd go to dance school and he to music school then they'd get married and love each other forever.

Her father must have gotten wind of their relationship and used it to his advantage. They surely planned accusing him of rape together. It was later when everything happened, his father told him Big Fred had always wanted their generational land.

After her father caught them in bed together, he sent his daughter away then faced him. Juwon was walking home at night the following day when Big Fred ambushed him. He'd accused him of raping his daughter even though he knew that wasn't true. The bastard had seen them cuddling in bed. When he took the knife out of his pocket after knocking him down, Juwon had thought he meant to kill him. He probably planned on doing so because the look in his eyes was telling. He was at least grateful for whatever changed his mind. Big Fred had decided to mark him instead and left a long tear on the side of his face.

He'd been bleeding and running home when he saw the fire. He got there and saw his father outside the burning house holding a bottle of alcohol. He was drunk and delirious and he blamed himself for the fire. He would talk senselessly about a cigarette causing the fire for a stretch then he would blame the cooker.

They lost their little property in the fire. Big Fred came to visit the following day and offered to help them get back on their feet by buying the land the burned down house was on. It was after his father signed the document and got the money he recollected that the land had been around for generations. Juwon began to piece things together later. He was sure Big Fred started the fire. He went in search of Gini for an explanation and met her father instead, and he confirmed the ugly truth.

His heart hadn't been the only thing broken that period, his trust was also shattered. The guilt had eaten him alive. He watched his father drink more to forget the fact that he'd just lost their last property. He had tried to tell the old man it all happened because of him but he never understood. His lack of self control had made him lose everything while his dad thought he was the problem.

His father overdosed a month later and that only sent him over the edge. He never took hard drugs, he was only addicted to alcohol. Juwon knew he OD'ed because of the immerse guilt he felt for selling the land. He'd later found out Big Fred offered less than the estimated value for the land.

Juwon had taken his father's route after he buried him. He got addicted to alcohol at fifteen and spent the remaining money from the land sale on bottles. By seventeen, his life lacked direction. He was still drinking heavily to rid his mind off guilt and Gini. On his eighteenth birthday, he had a vivid dream seeing his mother screaming his name as he laid dead on the floor. He quit alcohol immediately he woke and got his life together.

Juwon didn't bother going back to school. He got little money and started selling bathroom slippers in traffic. He later apprenticed with a man he met in traffic and there, he learnt about manual labour. He was a bricklayer for a year and a half. He used his savings to move to another state and apprenticed in welding. When he realized he didn't enjoy the sparks, he moved on to learn manufacturing.

The man he apprenticed with put him in charge and later sponsored him when he left to start his business. Juwon now owned two manufacturing plants. He owned heavy machines and had more than hundred workers. He made bathroom supplies, from shower head to faucets, then bathtubs and hot tubs.

In two years, he had a large clientele base. He supplied government projects, companies, hotels and guest houses as well as personal projects. He had remained low key all through this process. He later dabbled in real estate and got several hectares at home before he began his plan to take Big Fred down.

Juwon rubbed his temple as headache formed behind his eyes. Whenever he thought of all the things Gini and her father put him through, he got a headache. He got up and poured himself a glass of Patron, he took it back to the bed and read through Gini's information. When he read that she was working at a grocery store, he realized she must have gone broke at the same time her father did. Daddy couldn't come through for her anymore so she had to get her soft hands dirty. He noticed she hadn't gone to the dance school she used to talk about, could be she was too busy finessing other guys.

He drank when he got to the part about who she was dating. Roman had been thorough, he had added a picture of the guy and he looked burly. Why did women like the overtly masculine guys? She'd told him back then that she liked her guys lanky. Of course, she'd lied. She lied about everything so that shouldn't surprise him.

He smiled subtly when he read that they weren't serious. He could catch her interest as he planned on doing then. He just knew she was going to try some shit with him and he was ready for her. He was going to use her like she'd used him, then he'd laugh in her face like her dad did.

She messed with the wrong one. Juwon laughed loudly as he thought of the plan he had for her. She was going to beg for his mercy after he was done with her. Now that he knew what he wanted to know about her, the games could very well begin.


Author's Note.

Updates will be on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Thanks for reading.