HER LAST WISH Chapter 49

(Moremi)

Zeemah Writes 📝

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“You didn’t tell me Mirabel quit” Layla said to Phil as they walked home.
“That’s because she didn’t” Phil said.
“Huh?”
“I fired her”
“What! Why?” Layla asked, surprised.
“Really? Why? Left to you, does she not deserve to be fired?” Phil asked.
“Well…I do not know but why did you fire her?”

“I’ve been observing her since I knew you both did not get along. I know how friendly and accommodating you are, you would get along with anyone that gives you the chance. I noticed she did not only refuse to give you that chance, she kinda dislikes you also and on Saturday, I heard you both argument from the start to the end and I had to quickly step in when I saw the rage in her eyes or trust me, she would have hurt you” Phil said.
“You knew?” Layla asked.
“Yeah, I wasn’t in my office, I was inside the Cafe and you both were so into this argument that you didn’t notice me. After we were done in the Cafe, remember I told you to leave for home before me”
“Yeah” Layla nodded. After they were done on Saturday, Phil had told her to leave that she wanted to be somewhere.

“After you left, I told her to leave that she was fired and she left” Phil shrugged.
“Really? She didn’t say anything or even beg to stay?”
“She didn’t, even if she had, I wouldnt have accepted her plead, she told me to fuck my Cafe” Phil chuckled.
“Wow” Layla furrowed her brows.
“I don’t know why it took me so long to notice that very part of her, she has that grim and unkind look but I thought not to judge a book by it’s cover. I employed her knowing she’s an high school drop out and might want to need the money to continue her education and also because she’s your age so you both might get along, become friends and to think I was planning to assist her get back to school” Phil laughed.

“Really? Wow” Layla shook her head.
How people throw away opportunities with no other reason than a bad behavior is just so abnormal.
Having a good behavior costs you nothing, it creates opportunities for one instead. It doesn’t even cost anything to behave the right way.
The reason people would choose to have a bad behavior over a good one will forever remain unknown to her, how can you deliberately choose something that makes your heart feel heavy, restless and filled with hate over having peace of mind and heart that’ll always be filled with love.

“I’m glad I fired her soon enough, she’s capable of hurting you, it’s always so obvious on her face that she doesn’t like you”
“It’s good she’s gone now” Layla sigh.
“And I was planning to tell you on Sunday that I already fired her but Aria’s call came in” Phil said.
“Oh” Layla smiled.
“You’re so happy she’s back, it’s all over your face” Phil smiled.
Layla grinned.

“Phil” Layla called gently.
“Huh?”
“It’s so good to see you smile and laugh so often now, would you please keep it up? Layla asked.
Phil nodded not trusting herself to speak.

They continued their walk home in silence with Phil trying not to cry.

***

“Aria is back!” Layla said to Dan as they settled to eat in the cafeteria.
She couldn’t wait since yesterday to tell Dan that Aria is back, she really tried not to tell him over their chat yesterday night and when she saw him this morning, she almost spilled it. She wanted to tell him over lunch, so they’ll discuss as they ate and here they are.
“OMG, really? Wow!” Dan smiled. “I was wondering why your glow is so different today, didn’t know Aria was behind it” He said and she chuckled.
“You must be so happy, it’s so written all over your face” Dan said, he was equally happy too.
“I was so elated when I realised she’s back. When I saw her in the Cafe, I thought she just wanted to say hi and leave but it turned out she was back. ” Layla grinned.

“Awesome. I actually miss seeing Aria at the counter also. I’m going to come to the Cafe today just to see her work alongside you” Dan said.
“Nice!” Layla said and they started eating.
“I thought her husband was really against it” Dan said.
“Yeah, he finally consented but once Aria gets pregnant again, she’s going to stop working” Layla said.
“Ofcourse, that should happen. I’m so glad you’re gonna start looking forward to going to the Cafe again” Dan said.
“Believe me, same here” She smiled.

“What of Mirabel?” Dan asked.
“Well… Phil fired her”
“Wow, really?”
“Yeah she got fired and after getting fired, she told Phil to fuck her Cafe”
“What!” Dan exclaimed and they both laughed.
“She is just so crazy, you won’t believe Phil was actually there during my argument with Mirabel on Saturday, she heard every thing”
“Oh God, I’m so glad she did and I’m more glad she made that decision of firing her”
“Believe me. Phil has been observing her for a while now after knowing we do not get along, according to her, I get along with almost everyone and for me not to get along with Mirabel, then there must be something so she decided to start observing and eventually realised Mirabel doesn’t really like me, i mean…it’s so glaring that this girl dislikes me and then on Saturday Phil said she quickly had to step into our argument or the rage she saw in Mirabel’s eyes is capable of hurting me”

“Wow. I told you to be careful with that girl, I knew she was capable of hurting someone, her appearance says it all, I’m glad she wasn’t able to hurt you though, she would never have gotten away with it” Dan said and Layla smiled, happy she has people who would always have her back.
“There’s actually no how one can be careful with someone like Mirabel, she literally frustrates the hell out of me, even the most gentle person blow horns when frustrated”
“I know right. I think Phil’s changed though, don’t you? Seems she knows you better now and looks out for you. I mean…she literally fired Mirabel because she doesn’t want her niece to get hurt in any way. That’s really thoughtful of her”
“I think so too. Phil has really changed..like, really really changed and it feels good actually”
“It’s just so great to see things falling in place” Dan smiled.
“Yeah”
They continued eating, talking about other things.

“Hi…Layla” Chloe said, after gathering much courage to finally approach Layla.
Layla glanced at Dan and then back to Chloe.
“Me?” She asked, thinking Chloe might have mistaken her name for Dan’s.
“Yeah, Layla. You’re the one I want to speak to” Chloe said.
“Oh” Layla said, a bit surprised. She wondered what Chloe wanted to talk about.

“Okay, I guess I should excuse you both” Dan said, picking his tray of meal as he got to his feet.
“I’m so sorry for bothering you Dan” Chloe said.
“It’s cool” He winked and her heart raced, to be honest, she’s still yet to get over her feelings for Dan. It’s still there and she knows it’s probably gonna be there for the longest time.
Chloe sat opposite Layla and swallowed hard. Where was she going to start.
She has wronged this girl so much, she literally caused her misery.

“I don’t know where to start from, sitting before you right now is just…” Chloe sigh.
“Layla, I’m so sorry. I know sorry is not even enough to correct all my wrongs but I’m sorry, I’m.. so sorry. I wish you can actually see how sorry I am. I… feel so ashamed sitting before you right now and if you’ve noticed, I’ve not been able to meet your gaze for days now. That’s because of how bad and ashamed I’ve been feeling.
I’ve been wanting to approach you for some time now but didn’t have the courage to because of how bad I know I’ve treated you. Forgive me please… “And if you can’t, I understand, my attitude towards you deserve no forgiveness” Chloe said, finally catching her breath.
It took her so much to say all that, she has never felt this bad in her life, remembering how cruel she had treated Layla laced her eyes with tears.

Layla stared at her without saying anything. Thinking back to how Chloe had always treated her, the days where she dreaded coming to school, the days she cried because of Chloe’s hurtful words, the days when almost everyone avoided her because Chloe told them to.
Is this really that Chloe before her now, she continued staring at Chloe in wonder of how much she has changed.
If anyone had told her then that Chloe would sit right in front of her and apologise almost with tears in her eyes, she would have staked all she ever owned to argue that it was impossible.

But this is the world where the impossible becomes possible.
She knows Chloe is changed now but she never expected an apology. She forgave Chloe already even before she sat in front of her to apologize. Because she finally realized and understood where Chloe’s hate for her was coming from. She is not trying to justify Chloe’s bad treatment towards her, no matter whatever reason, Chloe should never have treated her that way.
But now that she’s changed, admitted her fault and is now asking for forgiveness, that’s enough. Everyone deserves a second chance as long as they’re willing to admit their fault and become a better person just like Dan always said.

“Layla, I’m so sorry. Please…ju..st forgive me” Chloe continued pleading. Layla’s looking like she won’t forgive her but she won’t even blame her if she refuses to, she deserves no forgiveness.
Though, she really wished Layla could see how truly sorry she was.

“I must not have been in the right frame of mind to have treated you that way. To be sincere, I…was jealous of you right from the day you resumed Ocean High, you were so pretty and…even…curvier than I was, the students were starting to shift the attention to you and I knew I had to act fast, I was never against the fact that you’re African, that’s not the reason I hated you, I do not hate Africans, I’m not a racist, I know most of them are lovely people with the most beautiful culture. I only used the fact that you are one as a cover to justify my hate for you, I manipulated the students minds by filling their minds with false terrible things about you. I made them dislike you. I just couldn’t deal with the fact that someone would steal the attention that I was starting to get away. I was so selfish and cruel to you. Forgive me Layla, I can’t believe I made almost everyone avoid and dislike you just because of my insecurity, I even made the Juniors disrespect you, on top of that I spill hurtful words to you with every chance I get, Oh God … how must you have felt?” Chloe said, in tears.

Layla looked surprised, not because of Chloe’s confession but because she was crying loudly, drawing attention to their table.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on them and it really made Layla uncomfortable.

“It’s okay, stop crying. I forgive you Chloe” Layla said to her, passing her a paper towel to wipe her tears with.
“No” Chloe refused to take it. “I think my apology to you needs to be as loud as my disregard to you was” She said and stood on her feet in a flash.
“Guys” She called everyone’s attention, even though their attention was already on them, she wiped her face with her palms and sniffed.
“Chloe this is not necessary” Layla said, realising what Chloe’s about to do.

“I know most of you probably realise by now that every terrible thing I’ve said about Layla is false, I said those things about her just to make everyone avoid and dislike her because I was so… envious of her” Chloe swallowed hard and then continued. ” I realised she might steal the attention I was getting away and then decided to fill people’s heart with dislike for her. Layla did absolutely nothing wrong to me, yet I tried to make her school life miserable. I’m such a terrible person, yes I know. And I’m also sorry to other people I’ve treated wrongly” Chloe said and the Cafeteria was filled with murmurs, most of the students obviously irritated with what Chloe had done and they didn’t hesitate to show it.

“I’m so sorry Layla, to have made you an outcast in the school.I come to your table every morning and made you cry” Chloe swallowed hard, tears starting to spill down her cheeks again. “How must you have felt? What was I even thinking, how could I have been that wicked to you when you literally did nothing to me”
The insults Chloe was getting increased and the Cafeteria looked like it was in chaos.
Layla sigh and got on her feet.

“Everyone” She said and sigh again, she never thought she would do something like this.
“Please do not take out Chloe’s wrongdoing on her. Yeah, she was once not the nicest person to me and some other people but what matters now is she’s changed, she’s asking for forgiveness, she realised her faults, admitted it and is ready to become a better person, let’s not react to people based on their past, let’s open our heart to forgive people as long as they admit their faults and they are willing to change” Layla said, hoping that would help.
It helped subside the insults Chloe was getting but it didn’t stop it.
Her eyes met Dan’s and he smiled at her, looking so proud of her, she smiled back at him, her heart racing crazily.

Layla fixed her attention back to Chloe, made her sit back on the chair and then passed her the paper towel again, this time she accepted it and wiped her tears. The students were still murmuring and didn’t stop looking at their table.
Layla held her hands and smiled. “You know the best thing about forgiveness? Admitting one’s fault and becoming a better person, you are forgiven Chloe and I mean it, I forgive you”
“Really?”
“Of course, I mean it. Besides, you’ve been forgiven before now, it just wasn’t official” Layla said.
“Are you for real?”
“Yeah, since you became a changed person, I already forgave you, I don’t have anything against you anymore. Nothing at all” Layla smiled.
“I…I don’t know what to say” Chloe said after much hesitation. ” I didn’t expect that you would forgive me so soon”
She already stopped crying, hearing Layla said she forgave her stopped her tears. She felt much more relieved.

“Well…I did. And I must tell you, I’m so glad you’re a changed person now, it suits you better” Layla said.
“I’m glad too, it gives me so much peace of mind and my heart has never felt so free.” Chloe said, smiling.
“I know right”
“Not having to yell all the time and harbor hate in one’s mind is just so peaceful” Chloe said.
“I can completely relate to that”
“I pretended to yell while staring at my reflection in the mirror yesterday and I looked like a bull” Chloe said and they both giggled.
“If I knew yelling made me look that ugly, I wouldn’t have made it a habit. Well, it still feels so unbelievable that you’ve forgiven me”

“I understand why you’re feeling that way, come, let’s hug it out” Layla said, stretching her arms towards Chloe as she stood up. Chloe looked surprised but quickly got to her feet also, they both hugged over the table blocking out the murmurs that seemingly rose.

~~

“Wow, Layla and Chloe officially in good terms. Unbelievable” Anne said to Layla in the car. They were heading home.

“I also never thought she would apologize” Layla smiled.
“I’ve actually fallen in love with Chloe for what she did. It takes a lot to admit one’s fault publicly and she did it, wow. She was so intentional on wanting you to forgive her” Anne said.
“Exactly, and I really admire that. She’s really a changed person now and it’s just so great” Layla said.
“Yeah, I’m glad she finally gathered that courage to approach you though” Dan said.
“You’re right, doing that required a whole lotta courage” Layla said.

“I knew Layla would forgive her though” Anne said.
“I knew that too” Dan said.
Layla smiled, staring at Dan, he made her a better person.
He saw her smiling at him and then returned the smile.

Anne sigh, how couldn’t Dan see that Layla has feelings for him and she bets Layla also doesn’t know Dan has feelings for her.
Can’t one of them just open their mouth to talk instead of staring at each other all the time like…they would devour each other on the spot.

Ugh!

~~

“Chloe! How could you embarrass yourself that much! God, I’m so disappointed! It’s enough that you changed, but how could you stoop so low to apologize to Layla publicly, that fat bitch and a lot of people were throwing insults in your face, people who wouldn’t even dare meet your gaze when you were the school queen spilled all sorts of nonsense on you Chloe! I told you your new change is nonsense.” Miranda ranted as they walked to their cars in the school parking lot.
Sabrina and Christy made to give Mira a deserving reply but Chloe stopped them.

“Look” Miranda continued, it’s not too late to go back to who you were, you’re starting to lose your respect Chloe and you need that more than anything, nobody cares about us any longer, they don’t even move out of the way when they see us approach anymore and you caused this Chloe but it’s not too late, I’m going to make it all easy for you to go back to who you were, trust me” Miranda said.

“Miranda” Chloe said as they got to her car.
“From this moment, you’re no longer my friend, you’re out of this circle Miranda. You’re a devil!” Chloe yelled, got into her car and her driver drove off almost immediately.
Miranda stood there, astounded. Sabrina and Christy were equally surprised but were glad Chloe did that.
“Well…bye” Rina said, getting into her car also.
“Chloe made the right decision” Christy said to Miranda’s face after waving Rina bye.
“Mira, I think you’re even more terrible than Chloe was, it just wasn’t obvious, how could you have this type of heart, you have a bad and negative energy and you really need to work on yourself. Bye and have fun creating another circle” Christy hopped into her car…

“You know what?” Christy said, winding down the car window.
“I’m so glad Chloe realized soon that bad friends should be cut off.”
She told her driver to start the car and he did, Christy gave her one last look before her driver drove off.
Miranda stood, still astounded by everything that has happened.
She was trying to digest everything, when her driver walked up to her.

“Ma’am, aren’t you getting into the car?” Her driver asked.
“Leave me the hell alone!!” She screamed and if scream could bring down a building, the school would no longer exist.

…………………..

ZEEMAH.