Guilt.

"There are two kinds of guilt: the kind that drowns you until you're useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose."
― Sabaa Tahir. 

Maverick.

The meeting had ended. Maverick returned to his office with a throbbing headache.

First, he watched a video of Leticia confronting Chukwuma, then the CCTV footage of Cruiseville, where she was caught on camera running by the fence. The time difference between the two videos was circumstantial proof that she was the most likely culprit.

The whole incidents were unbelievable. He still found it hard to believe that Leticia could perpetrate so much evil. 

His head was buried in his hands, as he tried to wrap his head around the latest happenings. 

"Maverick." He lifted his head to see who called him. Lara stood in front of his desk with a sympathetic look.

"Hey," he said.

Lara was his friend, had been his friend since their university days in England. At first, they were mere acquaintances, but when he had to carry the burden of the company that was nearly brought to ruins on his shoulders alone, as his mother was not emotionally and mentally stable enough to handle it, after the death of his father, she volunteered to become his secretary.

He had asked her if she was sure about what she was saying. The pay was small as the company was in huge debts because of the high rate of embezzlement, and they would have not been able to match the salary of a third-degree holder then.

Nevertheless, she took the job and became a great help to him. He always felt indebted to her as she had done so much for the company; she was one of the people who helped the company to rise again.

Since then, he considered her his true friend.

"I can't say I know how you feel," she started, dragging him out of the reverie he had fallen into. "But I can assure you that you'll be fine. Leticia's betrayal is something none of us ever expected, but it wasn't your fault," she said and he let out a pained chuckle.

"But why do I feel like it's all my fault?" He countered. "Maybe if I was a bit more loving and performed all my duties as a husband, all these would not have happened."

Self-blame. He was falling into the endless hole of guilt.

If only he had paid more attention to her, if only he had shown her more love, then maybe she would never have one what she did. Perhaps, she was looking for someone who ould love her unconditionally, unlike he, who was always so frosty.

"It's not your fault!" Lara argued. "You are not in her mind. There was no way you would have known her plans. And love you say? You loved her, Maverick, you were building a shopping mall for her when you became more stable! If that is not love then I don't know what it can be called."

"No. I could have shown her more love. I neglected her too much. Leticia is a nice woman, those acts conjured in her mind because of me. She did everything for me, yet what did I do for her? I was always absent, I was careless, I was casual... I..." A teardrop slipped from his eyes and another followed.

More tears dropped as it dawned on him that he was truly the cause of her behaviour. He should have shown her love, even if it was a little.

He heard a shuffling sound, then plump arms wrapping around his torso and he buried his head into Lara's shoulder, shedding tears of regret and anguish. He turned the innocent Leticia into a monster.

Hot tears dripped down his face, his silent tears turned into sobs as he recalled how he heard everything.

He, Lara and Chukwuma had travelled to Sweden as a lead was found there. That same evening, Lara came with all the proofs.

"Maverick, this will be hard, but you have to see this," was her exact statement. Only for him to open the files and realize that the culprit all the while, had been Leticia.

He booked a flight back to Nigeria immediately. And when he got home, Leticia, true to Lara's words that she wouldn't be home, was not home. 

They waited for Leticia for hours until she finally showed up.

He was blinded by anger, and so he sent her away that night. The next day, he was filled with regrets on his actions; the harsh words he used on her were stuck in his head.

"Just go home Ricky, rest for some time; say two-three days. I'll handle the office for you," Lara suggested.

"I can't do that. I have to get to the scene of Chukwuma's accident, go to the police station, and also see his mother. But what do I tell Chukwuma's mother? How do I tell her that her only son was murdered so brutally? How will I handle it if she breaks down?"

Maverick was well aware that Oscar Chukwuma was the breadwinner of his family. His mother was a poor widow, having to train three children single-handedly when her husband died in her thirties, but when she became older the boy took the responsibilities to stop his mother from overworking herself. How to break such terrible news to the boy's mother, he had no idea.

If it was a case where they could retrieve his dead body, it wouldn't have been so hard. 

"I'll take care of it," Lara promised.

"I-"

"No more arguments, Ricky. Go home and sort yourself out, I'll help you with the rest. What are friends for?"

He sighed, lifting his head from her shoulder to stare at her face. "Thank you, Lara. I don't know what I'd do without you."

She gave him a smile, helping him from his sitting position. "It will be fine, I promise."

He nodded as she led him out of the office. 

"Abu, abeg drive your oga go house (Please take your boss home)." Maverick watched silently as she beckoned on the driver, resisting the urge to whine that he could drive himself home, as he knew Lara would not agree.

She shoved him into the car seat, waving as the car drove out of the gate of Wagner's Inc.

On getting home, Maverick went straight to the room, collapsing on the bed after stripping himself of his office suit.

His thoughts kept him awake for sometime before he finally embraced sleep.

"U.jay, turn off the lights," he groaned.

"I said turn off the lights, U.jay. I've told you times without number that it af..." He trailed off, opening his eyes as he realised that there was no Leticia.

A mirthless chuckle escaped his throat. The woman was still stuck in his head, after all these days.

He sat up, burying his head in his hands, his heart was still heavy from the feeling of loneliness and betrayal looming around him. 

Her scent still filled the room, yet she was nowhere to be found. Maverick would have given up anything to see her again. 

Was he too rash when he sent her out in the middle of the night? Was she okay wherever she was? Another sigh. He seemed to be doing that a lot, recently.

He dragged himself out of bed and proceeded to do his morning tasks. When that was done, he stepped out of the room, reasoning what he was going to eat as he had no knowledge whatsoever on cooking. Oh, how he wished she was around.

On a normal day, his breakfast would be ready before he wakes, lunch brought to his office, and dinner ready before he got to the house. Courtesy of Leticia. 

If only she didn't run away, he might have been able to plead for a reduction in her jail term. 

He plopped on the parlour couch with a grim expression, totally unaware of the eyes that were following his every move.

"Good morning sir."

"Jesus Christ!" He jerked up from the couch, ready to sprint when he saw the amused expression on his mother's face. He breathed a sigh of relief, dropping back on the chair but not before giving his mother a scowl.

"Momsy Nah (Oh, Mom), what type of life is this?" 

"Good morning Wagner Olumide. Since you can't greet let me greet his majesty, sir, first," she retorted.

"E karo ma (Good morning ma)," he prostrated before his mother who let out a small chuckle. 

"Se e Ji daada (Did you wake up well)?"

"Beeni ma (Yes ma)."

His mother started to laugh, shaking her head at the same time with the way he pronounced the Yoruba words.

"Abeg oh (Please), don't phonetise Yoruba. In fact, don't speak it," she mocked, earning a scowl from her son.

"Whatever mom, when and how did you get in?" 

"Oh, I came around three in the afternoon. I know when you came too, but you seemed very tired so I didn't want to disturb you."

"Really, but you didn't tell me that you were coming to Lagos, why?'

"See this boy interviewing me oh. Uncle, I'm not answering your questions," she shot back.

Maverick sighed, running his hands through his thick hair. 

"Okay, ma. So why the sudden arrival?"

She shrugged. "I'll tell you when you eat, come to the dining table."

She got up from the seat, moving towards the dining area and he followed. Internally, he was fist-bumping and doing all the happy dance he knew. 

Thank God for his mother, he would have starved as he was not a fan of eating out.

They ate the meal; fried yam and egg sauce with hot chocolate in silence. Maverick noticed that his mother seemed disturbed. He made a mental note to ask her why when they were done with the meal, as his mother was a firm believer in table manners.

"Momsy, what's wrong?" He questioned immediately they finished.

The woman gave a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, leading him back to the living room.

He hoped it was not what he thought.

"Mom-"

"I heard everything," she cut him off.

He took a deep breath, his fears had been confirmed.

"And I want to know your thoughts. What do you think? Do you believe that Leticia is capable of such?"

Finally done with this chapter! Writing Maverick's point of view is a bit harder than I thought😫, but we'll get through this😁.

Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter also😉. See y'all next time.

Chubiley😋