When Joe and Clara were in their third year at the university, they started going to clubs. On a Friday during the short vacation in September, while Joe and Clara were dancing together in a club, a man walked towards them and gripped onto Clara.

“Leave me alone! I say leave me alone, Wole,” Clara said while she was being dragged out of the club.

“I am sorry. But I am jealous of seeing you with anyone else,” Wole said.

“What’s wrong with you man? Joe shouted and punched Wole on the face.

But Wole kept calm, “You see? All because of you, Clara.”

“Joe, please, don’t start a fight. I will explain things to you later,” Clara appeased Joe and he went back into the club while Wole and Clara continued to talk.

“How many times do you want me to say I am sorry before you will forgive me? I must have said that a million times. But why have you refused to forgive me. Why!?”

“Wole, I have always loved you as though there was no-one else in the world. But you, you don’t care about me,” Clara said and cut her hand from his grip, “All you care about his yourself, Wole. You have many times spoken ill of me with your friends because you want to sleep with them. No, no, I say, no, Wole. I don’t want to have anything to do with you again. I don’t need you anymore,” Clara said and turned her back to him.
“If I cannot have you, no-one else will,” Wole whispered as Clara was about to walk away from him.

“Go to hell!” Clara exclaimed and went into the club. Wole felt humiliated; and drank himself to a stupor at another club that night.

About seven weeks later, while Clara and Joe were returning to campus from Clara’s house, they were attacked by five men who wore hooded-pinafores with 28s tattooed on their shoulders. One of the gang hit Clara with a baton on the head while she was preventing them from pounding Joe, and she fainted. They beat Joe black and blue until they noticed a police patrol team before they got into their car and drove off.

After some minutes, an ambulance came and rushed Joe and Angela to the hospital emergency. There it was confirmed that Clara had died. But Joe survived.

When Wole heard about the death of Clara, he was so pensive. He later confessed to the attack on Joe and Clara, hence he was sentenced to prison. He committed suicide about a month later.

Joe recovered from the attack after about two weeks. He made a decision to have no intimate relationship with any lady when he had returned to campus from the hospital. He mourned Clara for many months. A year after that he had graduated from the university.

When he was celebrating Christmas with his uncle, Michael asked about Joke’s relationship with Angela. But Joe couldn’t answer. He was so shocked. Michael didn’t know what had happened between Joe and Angela because they both gained admission to university at the same time, but Michael went to Fort Hare. Joe didn’t tell him because he knew that his uncle and everyone else in the family would reproach him. But Michael really tortured Joe to the extent to which he began to search for Angela the following day.

Joe remembered Mrs Smith, who Angela had told him about, and who had helped them with school. When Joe got to Mrs Smith’s house he saw Janet and a man. Janet still recognized him and called Joe uncle.

“You are now a big girl,” Joe said and hugged Janet and asked after Angela, then he greeted the man.

“I am Dr Smith. Sit down. How are you?” Dr Smith asked.

Joe felt guilt when Dr Smith said that Angela had told him about Joe. Dr Smith was the only child and the only son of Mrs Smith. He was eighteen years older than Angela. He was a psychiatrist who helped Angela deal with her depression.

While they continued to talk, Mrs Smith joined them in the living room. Joe immediately greeted her. They had talked extensively before Mrs Smith told him that Angela was at Harvard. Then he asked for her number, but Mrs Smith said that she would need to first take orders from Angela, and Joe agreed.

Mrs Smith called Angela and told her about Joe. Angela agreed that they should give Joe her number, but she wasn’t ready to talk with Joe. Joe was very happy when Mrs Smith gave him Angela’s phone number. When he got home he explained everything to Michael, and Michael advised him to call Angela that day. And Joe did.

“Hello!”

“Hello, is that Angela?”

“Yes, speaking,” Angela was so overwhelmingly excited. They spoke for hours. Angela forgave him and they talked on their future together.

Tell us: Would you have forgiven Joe?