Audrey please come and update.......Jonathan 2787, go nd call Audrey please

This classical conditioning is second to none of AudreyTimms. I woke up this morning wondering what is making me so ecstatic, not knowing that my mind automatically switched to awaiting mood since today is Wednesday. We hope you will update before 12pm oooo

Skimpledawg:

U mean her carcass? wah am I doing wt that when her first Dauta looks like fio and am single

rotfl

Skimpledawg:

adjust for me dear....let's share ya tent! lemme be ya Gio ...#btw, am wt popcorn n chilled Pure Heaven wine


Jonathan2787, goan bring lady Audrey hia before niqqas cause commotion hia

keep it cool oya take chill pill

I was also so happy this morning when I remembered we hv a date with Audrey!
Can't wait to read the delicious updates that is sure to come. I commend u again for updating regularly

Skimpledawg:

.....King philip n Jonathan2787 take note! na my Luna b dz o to avoid a repeat of wah apund in Jigawa Last year

what's my business with that

kayemdy:
Audrey hope you took note of the corrections?

Yes, i did. Thanks.

ammy4id:
I CALL DIS OFFICIALLY CRIME IF SOMEONE SHOULD READ AND DIGEST THIS STORY WITHOUT COMMENT OR PRAISING YOU. Wahooo this story make me smile, cry and also laugh. Thanks to you Adreytimms, loving you more for these, sometimes you read some story on nairaland and you conclude dat the writer is the best write and you will think you can never come across any other story that can be compare to there's but after going tru dis i personally give u A. loving you more once again

Thanks dear.

N AudreyTimms is online
Are we getting it as breakfast or

Slimzjoe:

AudreyTimms I be Don Pull my Waiting Uniform but I will give special Consideration Cos You're our Host.


Manage this One Na Your Size

My size? I don suffer. Goldspot and pepper snack? Issokay. Issorite.

Abeg, i no fit reply everybody. So @all, update coming up. Thanks for your interest. It made me smile to note you were all waiting for me. You're all truly appreciated.


Keep ya fingers crossed.



Good morning.

[color=#000099][/color]Good morning to you too. We are waiting sha

Letting go. Everyone talks about it like it’s the easiest thing. Unfurl your fingers one by one until your hand is open. But my hand has been clenched into a fist for three years now; it’s frozen shut.
—Gayle Forman

Episode 18


THREE YEARS LATER


2014


"Guy, you don tell oga say you go soon travel?" Damola asked his colleague who was seated on the desk beside him as he watched the rendering going on on his laptop. "You no say if you no quick talk, nothing for you."

Obinna sighed. "I haven't. I brought the application letter and invitation card with me. I hope he agrees."

There was a general sigh from the other architects in the office. They all knew their boss. A guy they considered a small boy who didn't suffer fools gladly. A hard task master. He didn't take sloppiness from his staff. He expected the best from them at all times. No one could blame him though. He was their top dog and it was his hard work that had made their architectural firm the best of its kind in Akure and its environs. They won contracts effortessly, even from other states. Of course people whispered that it was due to their boss's father's influence but the staff knew the truth. Their boss fought for and won his own contracts without any help from his senator father whatsoever. Only a few people knew that he wasn't even in good terms with his father.

Obinna stood up, tucked in his cream coloured shirt covering a small pot belly into his black trousers, straightened his blood-red tie, looked down at his polished shoes before moving from the polished mahogany desk. "Might as well get it over with."

The firm was designed in such a way that every professional had his or her own space. There were three architects, two mechanical engineers, two quantity surveyors, two structural engineers, a builder and a landscaper, a receptionist and their boss's secretary as well. At the entrance of the black and grey moon-shaped building through thick glass doors called Primal Concepts, one came in contact with a lovely receptionist who questioned you on who you wanted to see. You were asked to take a seat on one of the leather seats to the left and right of the reception. If the person you wanted to see was willing to see you, you were either sent to the first floor which to the left housed the architects' large office with pictures of their designs on the walls and all the office equipment they needed or to the right where the other professionals had their offices. The second floor held the boss's and his secretary's office. 

Obinna jogged up the stairs and walked into the secretary's office, handed her the application for a casual leave and the invitation card as his proof. She looked at it and smiled. 

"Hmm...I don't know if this is a good idea. Not now that he just won that new secretariat design and building contract. He's snowed under with work already as it is," the dark-skinned secretary informed him.

Obinna sighed. "I really need to go for this wedding. It's my cousin's and I'm one of the groomsmen. Besides, it's in two months." 

"Okay. Do you want me to take it to him now or later?"

"Now please. Let me know my fate. Buzz me when you have his reply." He smiled sheepishly as he said a prayer up to heaven. It wasn't as if their boss was a wicked person, it was just that when he'd started the firm, he'd being a novice and a lot of people had taken him for granted. By the time he found his feet, he became stern and sacked at will due to lies and incompetence. One wouldn't want to lose a lucrative job such as this. The working hours were negligible and the pay was very good.

Anna, the dark, slim and tall secretary knocked sharply on the oak door a few paces from her office and opened the door to a large room that contained a brownish yellow oriental rug; an imposing dark mahogany desk the size of a small dining table sat in the center, two leather armchairs faced it. On the other side of the large room, two deep burgundy leather sofas faced a sitting area, articrafts, a drinks cabinet and file cabinets. Her boss as usual was busy with his laptop. Behind him was a floor-to-ceiling glass which gave a spectacular view of Alagbaka, and the curtains were pulled back to make a point of it. To his left was his rest room and closet.

He lifted his head to fix his solemn gaze on her and as usual, her heart missed a bit. The first time she'd laid eyes on him during her interview, her heart had sung, her knees had weakened and her voice had got caught in her throat. From his hand-stitched leather shoes to his fabulously tailored mohair-and silk-blend pearl-grey suit, he was effortlessly elegant, supremely sophisticated. She was in her early thirties and her boss she knew was twenty-six years old but that didn't stop her from having feelings for him. He was a handsome male specimen even though he was as cold as ice. 

Anna got a grip on her emotions and moved forward. He was known for firing secretaries on the spot who came on strong to him or dressed provocatively. She'd changed all her short skirt and gown suits to trousers when she heard that. This job was just too good to lose.

"Sir, this is from Obinna Ihenacho." She dropped the papers on the table beside his Alienware laptop and hovered.

"Is there more?" he asked.

"No sir." She moved to the door.

Giovanni Ekwe leaned back on his chair as he opened the envelope. He read the permission for a leave of absence addressed to him. He sighed. His architect was asking for a week away from the office. Gio wondered how long he'd ask for if it was his own wedding. He decided to grant him the request because the guy was hardworking and dilligent. Even when he was under the weather, he still made it to the office, never broke a deadline and was as honest as the day was long.

It had been cumbersome but Gio had made a name for himself in the architecture world. Just before he finished his youth service, he applied for admission into the Federal University of Technology, Akure for Architecture and was sure it was his surname that had gotten him his admission. Not minding how it would look he'd dedicated himself to his studies and was almost at his third year with two more years to go. It wasn't easy combining work with studies but after a year, he was able to balance it. Luckily for him, during his service days, he'd taken a crash course in business management.

He'd put the painful events of 2011 behind him but he'd forever hate that year. It had given him a taste of heaven but ended it with throwing him in hell. What turmoil he'd been in at the heartbreak Nkiru had melted on him. Seeing her everyday in his house in Oba Afunbiowo estate yet knowing full well she wasn't there and was just a figment of his imagination had nearly driven him to insanity. He'd gone in search of another house and had moved into a three bedroom-flat in Ijapo estate owing to the fact that that was what was available at such short notice. He didn't mind living alone in the huge place. Tano spent his holidays with him even though the kid was due to be in the States any moment from now and over his dead body would Fiorella come to his house. She'd done her worst and thrown him into a pool of misery. Despite what Tano and Dano told him that she was deeply sorry for her actions, he didn't care a hoot. Her apology was a day late and a dollar short! She should live with the consequences of her actions.

Nkiru!

Damn! Even after three years he still dreamt of her especially in the past one month. He saw her more in his dreams these days. After their fruitless search in Lagos, his father had given up. Gio had given up on her a long time ago especially when he heard the sudden wealth her family had come into. It still riled him and he still found it difficult to believe that Nkiru had sold their love, well, his love since it didn't seem as if she loved him. Had she been pretending? Had she been like Jessica but played her cards subtly, finally showing her true colors when a bigger amount of money came and she'd decided to throw him under the bus? Thank God he hadn't told her about his inheritance. She was sure to have slipped poison into his drink some years down their marriage.

During a heated arguement with his father, with him accusing his father of being the cause of his breakup with Nkiru, his father had told him all the plans he'd made to get Jessica in her lying game just because he loved him. He'd wanted to say more about Nkiru but Aunt Vien had stopped him. Not concerned with what they were hiding from him about his wife, Gio had been so furious he'd told his father and Aunt Peace never to speak to him again. When he got his inheritance, he totally cut them off but it became obvious to him then that he'd had gotten his stubbornness from his father. Senator Ekwe still came to his house and office unannounced, trying to force a relationship with his son. Gio suspected the headway he'd made in his firm was due to his father. He believed his father was silently behind the government contracts he'd received which had really boosted the name of the firm. It was a cash cow for him and he didn't want anyone else taking credit for it. If he ever found out his dad was responsible for his success not his own hardwork, he was going to go to Abuja to physically fight the man. He didn't care if he was still a senator. After the senatorial flag bearer for their constituency had died in a ghastly motor accident, his father's party had pleaded with him to stand for them. His father had been surprised and reminded them of all the negative news about his family. They'd only said it made him more human. Everyone had problems. Rain doesn't fall on one roof alone. Besides, his people were clamouring for him and he was an old hand in politics. Aunt Peace had convinced him to answer the call which he'd done and won. But he'd told his son there was nothing that was going to make him contest again the following year even if he was given the seat permanently as a result of the number of tenures spent there already. He wanted to relocate permanently to Italy.

Gio got back from his thoughts, took his ball point pen and minuted on it. He was about to buzz his secretary when he noticed the envelope which contained the invitation card. Out of curiosity, he brought out the cream and pale gold card in a heart shape. The first words he saw exploded in his brain. 

Nkiruka Amanda Chiwendu. 

WTF!

He sat still and viewed the contents of the entire card. What were the chances that it could be someone else with the same first, middle and surname, the same village and the same father's first name? Could it be?

He fumbled with the buzzer and told his secretary to ask Obinna to come to his office. He tried to maintain his normal cool exterior even though his emotions were in a mess.

Obinna came into the office with a look of wariness on his face.

"Obinna, I've granted your request but I have a few questions to ask. Please take a seat." Gio was his normal cold self.

Obinna smiled and drew out one of the chairs in front of the desk and sat on it.

His boss folded his hands on the table after pushing away his laptop a little. "Are you close to this cousin of yours?"

Obinna's heart beat faster. "Yes sir."

"Tell me about him." Gio leant back on his chair with a hand under his jaw. Obinna tried to hide his surprise.

"I...ahh...he's the son of my late father's brother. His father is also late. We grew up together in Lagos. Emm...he works in a bank in Dutse, Jigawa state and...and...well, I think that's all."

"Have you met his...fiancée?"

Obinna's eyes narrowed a bit. "Yes, once."

"Please describe her."

Obinna swallowed thickly. "She's not too tall. About five feet three or five I think. She's light skinned. Well, she's more on the caramel side. She's very pretty with a nice figure, nice legs...very nice legs...emm...she stays in Dutse also..."

Obinna didn't notice the change in his boss as he rattled on. Sounds like you've been eyeing your cousin's fiancée, Gio thought.

Very pretty. Very pretty. His own Nkiru was just passing pretty not very pretty. Or was she a late bloomer? His mother had told him Aunt Peace had been a late bloomer, only finding beauty as she grew older. His lips tightened as he remembered one more member of his family he'd cut off from his life. Was Nkiru also a late bloomer?

Obinna stopped talking when he noticed Gio's eyes tightly shut.

"Sir?"

His eyes flicked open, revealing dark irises with a flash of fire. "Where can I find her?"

His employee's jaw dropped. 

"I...I...will call my cousin to get me her number and ..." Obinna winded to a stop when he saw the venom in his boss's eyes. Had Ikenna offended Gio in the past or was it the sweet-natured Nkiru?

"Get me her number, office and house addresses without arousing suspicion. Cook up a story if you have to. I need it before tomorrow morning. Leave them with Anna. That will be all for now," Gio firmly told him and moved his laptop closer.

The confused architect stumbled out of his chair and wondered what was going on with his boss. Did he know Nkiru or was his rumored madness coming back? In the six months they'd worked with him, everyone had been on needles, waiting for his insanity to surface but after series of discussions with him and staff meetings as well, they're realized he wasn't insane but quite brilliant. Had they been wrong?

He went back to his desk and wondered how he would get the information his boss wanted. He ignored his colleagues who were giving him questioning looks at the worry on his face. Maybe he should confide in them. They could help him cook up a convincing story. But what if Giovanni heard? Better to think of something on his own.

Fiancé! 

Gio fumed, roughly pushed aside his laptop and launched his lean body out of the chair with his hands in his pockets to look out the glass at cars driving by and people going about their businesses. He could see them but they couldn't see him. His fingers tightened fractionally. His tough mouth straightened into a line of such grim cynicism that if anyone had been there to see it happen, they would have been backing right off in alarm by now.

The loathsome memory of that day lived for Gio again now. The hatred came back, borne on a seething tidal wave of bitterness. But he couldn't stop the cursed name from creeping into his head now and then. And when it did, it was difficult to unravel the gamut of different emotions that came buzzing along with it. Pain was one of them, plus a dark, bloody anger aimed entirely at himself for letting her get away from him especially in his hour of need. Then there were the moments of real guilt-ridden anguish to contend with, or the bouts of gut-wrenching concern as to what had become of her. And, to top it all off, there was a hard-to-take sense of personal bitterness in knowing that she could leave him that made him wish he had never met her in the first place! But most of all there was an ache. An ache of such muscle-clenching proportions that sometimes he had to fight not to groan at the power of it. Because he missed her. No matter what, no matter when, no matter why-- sometimes he missed her so badly that he could barely cope with what missing her did to him.

Damn!

Gio suddenly got itchy feet. He went back to his desk, his hand snaked down to grab the phone and buzz his secretary.

"Book me a flight to Kano tomorrow morning," he spat into the receiver.

"But sir, you have a 10am lecture tomorrow morning," she dared to counter.

When silence greeted her, she knew she'd erred.

"Okay, sir. I will do that right away. Should I..."

He cut her off in anger. She was efficient, else she would have found herself clearing her desk this minute. He couldn't blame her though. She didn't know the rage moving inside of him. 

Three years-- three long, miserable years with no word of her, no sign that she was even alive. She had, in effect, simply dropped off the face of the earth as if she had never lived on it. And now she was engaged. Cruel, heartless, ruthless witch. So she wanted to get married after making his life miserable. And the wedding was just around the corner. There was no way in hell or heaven that Nkiru would ever get married under his watch. Did she think they'd had a phony marriage? She hadn't received divorce papers from him, yet she was about to marry someone else. Maybe he should leave her until she'd committed the crime. Nah, he wanted to enjoy seeing her disappointment. He thanked his stars that he'd put everything concerning their wedding and marriage behind a wall in his hardened heart. Too miserable to go and see a lawyer to do what he ought to have done since. All well and good now. It was payback time.

He had to get to Dutse. Time was of the essence.

He had to stop his wife from committing bigamy.


The fact that one is thirsty does not mean one should drink gutter water.

AudreyTimms:

My size? I don suffer. Goldspot and pepper snack? Issokay. Issorite.

No be Me Go Give You Alc. Lol

Waiting for your Update Missy

Jonathan2787:
See them like vultures waiting for you to die just to pick your carcads lol Audrey mistakenly forget to update this people will come to your house with pitchforks

Hahahaha. We just want her to know we are looking forward to her update. The story is too captivating to be calm over.
Don't let us give you high BP Audrey. Pls relax and update us well

**********

"Chichi, I'm beginning to think I have this spiritual husband of a thing o," Nkiru informed her sister while she spread her pale pink shirt on her wrapper in order to iron it for work the following day. 

Nkechi who was flipping through the channels of their DSTV cable paused in shock.

"What?"

Nkiru who had her back to her as she plugged the iron in the socket on the wall continued talking, "I really don't know how to explain it. There's this guy I've been seeing in my dreams lately. I think his name is Giovanni or something like that. We were school mates. I don't know if I told you there was one handsome, arrogant snob like that who shameless girls chased after in school then. Sometimes it's him, sometimes it's someone who looks like him." Nkiru paused and turned to look at her sister to see if she was listening to her. Her younger sister quickly schooled her features and became passive. "Do you understand? There are times when I see us getting married. They come in flashes sha. I see you at the wedding and one woman as well but I don't know who she is, though she shares a resemblance with this Giovanni guy. I don't know. I'm just confused."

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. She's finally beginning to remember. Nkechi screamed inwardly. Should she be happy at the turn of events or pray God send back those memories into the deep recesses of her sister's mind? Oh, God, why now? Why now that her sister had found someone else?

"Chichi, are you listening to me?"

Nkechi jerked. She cleared at throat. "Since when did you start having these dreams?"

"Since Ikenna asked me to marry him. Do you think I should see Father John about it?" Nkiru worried her bottom lip.

Oh, how she longed to tell her sister she didn't have a spiritual problem but a physical one. They, the Chiwendus had all swore never to divulge the missing part of her memory to her sister. Their mother had particulalry drawn her ears, knowing how close she was to her elder sister and how she'd liked Gio, and had warned her sternly never to let Nkiru know anything about Gio even if she started remembering him. But could she really keep such a thing from her sister now that she was beginning to remember? They'd scrapped every memory of her time with Gio from her sister's life but here she was now, seeing him in her dreams and even about their wedding.

No one had seen nor heard from the Ekwes since that eventful day in their living room. They had heard Gio and his father had come in search of them a few weeks after they'd relocated back to Lagos but that was all. They hadn't received Nkiru's divorce papers or anything of that sort. Burying the proverbial head in the sand, her family had decided not to worry about it until Nkiru wanted to marry someone else. She was already planning her wedding to Ikenna yet their parents were still not saying anything about their daughter's first marriage. And now Nkiru was beginning to remember Gio. What were they going to do?

"Chichi, haba! What's the problem? I have been talking for the past five minutes. Are you thinking of that your BBM boyfriend again?" Nkiru questioned with a naughty smile on her face. She laughed when Nkechi eyed her.

Nkechi had mistakenly added someone up on her BBM of whom she'd thought was a friend only for her to discover it was a Nigerian guy based in London. When she'd wanted to delete the pin, the guy had pleaded with her and they got talking. That was about three months ago. Now they were like the best of friends and chatted for hours. They even spoke on the phone as well but they'd maintained they were not going to exchange pictures. They didn't want to know what the other looked like before they met face to face even though they were dying of curiosity. Nkiru found it sweet. She was happy her sister was finally leaving her shell even though it was due to an unseen guy. The way she was all smiles these days showed she was beginning to fall in love with the guy even though she denied it.

"Please listen to what I'm saying before you start daydreaming of him," Nkiru teased before focusing her attention on her shirt.

After Nkiru's accident and amnesia, the Chiwendus had taken the entire situation to God in prayers. Their parish priest had come in every evening then to pray for the family and Nkiru's speedy recovery. Like magic, one day, out of the blues, Mr. Chiwendu's cousin whom he had given a large sum of money to invest in the business he had introduced him to but who had later ran abroad with the money suddenly surfaced. He'd invested the money well and had enjoyed life for years but his conscience had never allowed him know peace at what he'd done to his cousin. That particular new year day in 2011, his pastor had called him and told him to make reparation for his sins or the year would be bad for him. And God's words through his pastor were known to come to pass in his life from experience. He knew at once what God was telling him to do but he resisted. He didn't want to give his cousin a slice of the pie. He couldn't afford to share his business with his rightful partner and lose a hundred percent control of his company. By the time the value of his stocks started dwindling over a sub-standard product made in error, he knew then God meant business. However painful at the prospect of losing a chunk of his money, he put things in order before traveling down to Nigeria to seek peace. When he saw the state his cousin and his family were in, his conscience pricked him in no small portion. He paid back Nkiru's father the capital he'd given him with interest and everything due him in the business since the time it started flourishing and made him the silent partner which was the intention years ago. All that restored Nkiru's father to his millionaire status and some. They were completely out of the red.

Needing for their daughter to forget her trauma, they'd decided to relocate to Lagos to start life afresh again. Mr. Chiwendu went back to his former business while Mrs. Chiwnedu continued doing what she knew how to do best by opening a big supermarket close to their residence in Victoria Island. When Nkechi saw how overwhelmed she was at the standard of salons in Lagos, she'd swallowed her pride and gone to learn under a very good hairdresser. Now she was as good as the girl. Nkechi, while Gio was still in the hospital in Abuja had been sent to retrieve her sister's things from Gio's house in Akure and inform NYSC about her accident and amnesia with a doctor's report in tow. In sympathy, they'd decided to redeploy her to her state of choice or defer her service till the following year when she'd be better. Hearing Gio and his father were still on the look out for her and intended visiting Lagos in their sojourn, Hassana had stepped in. She'd offered to provide secuirty and shelter to one of her best friends in her home state, Jigawa. Gio wouldn't think of looking for her there. Her parents had been sckeptical because of the security challenges in the north but with tears in her eyes, Hassana had sworn to protect Nkiru. She would be placed in the good hands of her family. They'd eventually agreed because the beautiful hausa girl had proven her mettle as Nkiru's true friend. During the period of their daughter's illness in the village, Hassana had traveled down from Abuja to stay with her friend in the village. She'd never said a word of complaint at the lack of luxuries she was used to but had put all her strength in trying to get Nkiru back to her former self. Also remembering they had close relatives in the north-western state, Nkechi had been asked to go along with her. True to her words, Nkiru and her sister had had a swell time in Hassana's mansion home in the state's capital, Dutse. Her family members were kind and nice to them and Nkiru finally met the handsome Ahmed when he came home for a visit. Nkiru had a lazy remainder of her service at the government house where she did nothing all day. Grateful for the northerners' hospitality, Nkechi however asked their parents to send them some money to rent their own place after Nkiru's service year was over when she noticed some of Hassana's family members trying to convert her and her sister to Islam. They however still spent weekends in the house whenever they were bored or Hassana came visiting. Hassana had finally married Ahmed some months after her service year was over and settled in Abuja with him. It had been a grand wedding where the cream de la cream of society had attended. The beautiful hausa girl had already welcomed a handsome baby boy.

Nkiru and her sister moved into their one bedroom and living-room self-contained flat at G9 quarters and lived there ever since. Due to Hassana's parent's influence, Nkiru was given a job at the Manpower Development Institute where she was one of their computer analysts and was earning a decent pay. Nkechi as usual had opened a big salon in Hakimi street even though she now had an OND in Business Management from Kano Polytechnic. Nkiru had persuaded her to further her education now that the money was there. She was hoping to gain admission into Bayero university, Kano later in the year. The twins had also gained admission into Imo State University after their OND programme. Njideka was presently schooling in Lagos State University though she still engaged in tailoring on the side while Nnmadi's shop was the envy of his colleagues as a result of the money pumped into it by his father. He'd married his fiancee a year and a half before and Nkiru and Nkechi were aunties to twin girls. All in all, they were doing good.

"So what should I do? Should I discuss it with him?" Nkiru pressed when her sister kept her quiet.

This was a delicate situation, Nkechi surmised. Sincerely, she felt like coming out and telling Nkiru the whole truth. She'd watched her sister with Ikenna. It couldn't be compared at all with what she'd had with Gio. Inwardly she felt Nkiru agreed to marry Ikenna simply because of pressure from their mother. Their mother felt the earlier her first daughter got married the better it would be for them in case Gio showed up out of thin air. Ikenna worked with one of the commercial banks in the state capital; he was their customer service officer. They'd met when Nkiru went to open an account there six months ago. Their father had asked her to open an account there so it would be easier to transfer money from his account into hers for their upkeep. From further transactions with the bank, Ikenna kept putting pressure on Nkiru to visit her place and she'd finally obliged. Once their mother heard an Igbo man was interested in her daughter, she mounted pressure on Nkiru to find out everything about him in order for them to carry out their research. She wasn't particularly thrilled he wasn't from Imo state but Ihiala in Anambra state but beggars couldn't be choosers. When they found out he was from a good family, her mother kept pushing and pushing until Nkiru agreed to go out with him. Now that they were engaged, Mrs. Chiwendu was over the moon. She told them not to have a long engagement. In fact, their introduction ceremony was two weeks away and wedding eight weeks away. Since money wasn't a problem, they wanted the wedding done as soon as possible.

Nkechi wasn't particularly euphoric that her elder sister was about to marry Ikenna. Not that he was bad looking or anything, she just felt it was wrong of their parents to have pulled Gio and Nkiru apart. For all they knew, they could still be married. Remembering how her sister had lost her head and heart to Gio and comparing it with the shallow relationship she was in now, Nkechi felt her sister was being cheated out of true love. But could she really break the oath she'd taken to never tell Nkiru about Gio? Would her sister even accept Gio? She had seen on the net the exclusive interview that witch, Jessica had given a renowned magazine on Gio's insanity. It had hurt her badly. Nkiru had read it also and not even battered an eyelid except to say the same rumour had made the rounds in school as well. She'd however felt sorry for her ex-husband.

"Nk, if you started dreaming of this guy just after Ikenna asked you to marry him, then it's barely two months since it started. I don't see any course for worry here. Some people say they see such almost all their lives. Yours is barely a month. No need to worry, abeg." Nkechi waved a nonchalant hand.

Nkiru wasn't convinced. "But why now that I'm engaged? It's obvious it has come now to try to stop my wedding or ruin my marriage. Tufiakwa! It's not going to happen. I will go and visit the Blessed Sacrament every morning before I go to work."

It's your true love trying to stop you from getting married to the wrong person. Nkechi almost blurted out.

"Chichi, please tell me the truth, is it that you don't like Ikenna? I've noticed your cold attitude towards him ever since we got engaged. What's the problem? Please talk to me," her elder sister pleaded with worry in her eyes.

It's because I bonded with your first husband.

"Nothing really." She shrugged. "I just feel you're listening to Mummy too much and allowing her force you into a marriage you're not really ready for. I feel you and Ikenna are rushing things."

Nkiru was astounded. "Rushing things? Ikenna is thirty and I'm twenty-four. We both have good jobs, love and understand each other. What more is there?" she wondered.

Even your personality changed, Nkechi mused. Nkiru of before would never be pressured into marriage. Nkiru of before had wanted to get a masters degree before thinking of marriage. However, Jessica had forced her to marry so early. But there was nothing stopping her now from going for her masters degree, now that the money was even there, but Nkiru was prepared to get married at the drop of a hat. What a pity! And she couldn't talk to her without divulging her past. All she needed to do now was pray. Pray like she'd never done before. 

Nkiru just had to regain her full memory and remember her love for Gio.


A forest rewards those who walk through it.

*Continuation of Episode 18*

**********

"Are you an only child?" 

Fiorella fixed her beautiful gaze on their new next door neighbour who had decided to pay her a visit upon returning from a trip from Paris.

"No," Fiorella smiled a little and lifted her chapman drink in the tall glass. But I might as well be, she added inwardly.

They were seated at the cabana overlooking the swimming pool. Fi had on a simple sheath dress and flat sandals while her new friend was dressed in jean trousers and an off-shoulder top which showed off her long neck and creamy skin. She was as thin as rail but wasn't bothered because she was a model and stood at six feet. Her closely-cropped hair had a sweet fragrance, her nose was pierced and she had a tattoo of a black widow on her neck. 

There was a time, in her dark days, Fi had wanted to go rogue. She'd contemplated tattooing her body with red ink, wearing skimpy and revealing dresses, smoking and drinking and even doing drugs but her cousins had advised her against such. Besides, her father would have disowned her without battling an eyelid. Life had taught her to stop looking at it through rose-tinted glasses.

Oh, just one mistake and she'd lost her family for good. She saw only her father these days. Ever since she told tales out of school, she hadn't set eyes on her elder brother. Like a dog with its tail in between its legs, she'd ran away from home till it was time to go back to school. School had been terrible for her and she'd barely been able to cncentrate on her studies. Jessica, that she-devil hadn't bothered coming back and she had been asked countless times where her so-called best friend was. Of course someone had whispered that she had a bun in her oven and her brother was responsible. She'd denied such malicious rumour vehemently but it had been all for nought. When news of her brother's insanity had filtered into the school, Fi had shut herself in her room for days. That was when she realized who her true friends were. Only Darasimi, the friend she'd casted out as a jealous person had been the one to comfort her in her time of misery. Fi had apologized to her over and over again that she had been deceived but Darasimi had taken it in her stride. They became fast friend's again and with her help, Fi was able to lift her head in the school till she graduated. But she'd needed an extra year to rewrite her carryover courses because during the dark period in her life, reading had been the least thing on her mind and she'd failed some of her courses to the surprise of her lecturers amd father. Even summer lesson hadn't been able to help her. However, she'd finished her youth service corps programme there in Abuja and had been retained in the private accounting firm because of who her father was. Her father had wanted to get her a job in the ministry of finance but Fi told him not to bother. She just wanted a quiet place to work in. They however got accounting contracts due to her father's influence.

She missed Gio dearly but the young man didn't want to have anything to do with her. She'd pleaded through Tano who spent all his hols there in Akure with their elder brother to put in a good word for her so she could come visit too. Tano had told her Gio had gone back to his former cold self and it was hard getting through to him again. He'd said the last time he broached her topic with him, Gio had frozen him out and informed him that if he wanted to keep coming to his house, he'd better not mention that name anywhere near him ever again. Fi had wept herself silly that day. Just one action had caused a chain reaction which had hurt a lot of people, even her father and aunt along the way. Tano was presently there with him. The young lad was soon to be in Stanford University, California to start his tertiary education. Their father, noting what had happened to Gio and Fi had decided it was best if his son went abroad. Who knew if another desperate girl in Prestige university wouldn't do to him what Jessica had done to Gio? He would miss his last child but he didn't want another drama in his family.

"Fi, you're shedding tears! What's the problem?" The concerned neighbour asked when she focused her gaze on her after staring around her at the beautiful compound, so like hers.

The embarrassed girl quickly wiped her tears away and offered a false smile before taking a sip from her drink. Thinking of what her family had become always made her shed tears. And it was all her fault. Gio's love for Nkiru had started changing him and their family had started going back to the way it used to be but jealousy had blinded her and she had put a halt to the reformation process and shattered them forever. Gio didn't even communicate with their dad anymore. The senator actually forced a relationship on him and always had to be the one to call him and pay him surprise visits from time to time. All because of her. All because of her childishness and jealousy. It had taken awhile but she'd inevitably taken responsibility for her actions. Gio hadn't ruined her life, she'd ruined it all by herself. And ruined others as well.

She hastily excused herself from her neighour and rushed out of the relaxtion spot into the house. Running up the stairs to her room, she felt as if her tear ducts were dying to come out of her eyes. She flung herself on her bed the minute she entered the room and wept her heart out. If only she could turn back the hands of time.

Dine with a stranger but save your love for your family

**********

"Hello beautiful. Care to keep me company for the night?" The handsome young man in a charcoal black infinity jeep asked the barely clothed girl he had driven up to among a number of other scantily dressed girls.

Jessica chewed her gum noisily and sized him up.

"Do you have what it takes for me to keep you company?" she sassily asked him.

The guy opened his pigeon hole and brought out a wad of one thousand naira bills. "I sure do, beautiful."

Jessica's bright smile lit up the night.

"Babes, I go see una later," she told her colleagues and walked round the beautiful car to the other side. The guy leant and opened the door for her and she hopped in. He drove at a sedate pace to his hotel while they listened to 'Aye' by Davido from his CD player. Jessica mused that there wasn't a girl on earth who didn't want a ferrari or designer stuff. Even if she was a saint. 

Jessica thanked her stars that she had a customer for the night. She'd been standing there for over an hour due to the fact that she came late. Busy quarreling with her neighbour, she'd forgotten she had to go for her night duty. Her colleagues had asked her why she was late when she'd finally surfaced. They knew she was never late and was hot cake. She sometimes went on three rounds with different guys before she called it a night. She thanked her stars that she'd secretly gone for a boob job years ago. Now at the sight of her big and firm boobs which she accentuated by swearing off bras and putting on tops which clearly showed off the size and firmness, guys picked her first out of the many girls there. Of course she'd had cat fights with some of the jealous girls there and even got beaten by a group but that didn't stop her from plying her trade. Before hitting the streets, she used to hang around a famous hotel where customers picked her and others but when the owner had been arrested for child trafficking, the hotel had closed down. She'd had to register with the association of prostitutes at that side of Benin before she'd been allowed to stand in the streets with the others.

"Tell me, what's a beautiful and well-endowed girl like you doing in such a profession?" the young man asked the same question she'd been asked a number of times by her customers.

Jessica sighed. She'd begun believing in the force that the native doctor said protected Gio after calamity befell her family. Her uncle, the chief justice had died of a very sudden heart attack a month after she left Gio's house. His death had left their whole family in sorrow and turmoil. As if that wasn't enough, EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Comission) had come after her father due to a fraud he committed some years ago. She suspected the senator had something to do with it. They had used the money she got from the magazine whom she'd sold her story about Gio to in order to get bail for her father all to no avail. Her father was presently languishing in prison since the only person who would have helped him out of such a messy situation was dead. 


Her father's people had chased their mother out of their house in Owerri and confiscated the small properties her father had. Her mother relocated to their small house in the village with Jessica's son. Her powerful dibia, Mazi Atafia had died like a chicken. When he changed into a leopard to go hunting, he'd mistakenly caught his foot in a poisonous trap and by the time the owner of the trap had come to check it some days later, it was to find the old man n.aked and very much dead. Jessica believed it was the same force that had come for him. She had gone in search of a decent job since she didn't complete her tertiary education but only got menial jobs. When she'd begged her friend to keep her promise of introducing her to the Americana, her friend had obliged her and told her to come over to Benin but Jessica had had to leave the guy because he was a total nut case. Gio's madness was nothing compared to his. He beat her at the slightest provocation and sniffed cocaine first thing in the morning, and wanted to have sex with her everywhere, in the public, even in a club. The most painful thing for her was that he was very stingy. She never got sufficient money from him to send to her mother and child. Frustrated, she'd finally joined prostitution her neighbour had been urging her to do instead of running after one sick-in-the-head man. Now the job paid her bills and took care of her mother and child. Till date she regretted having the child. Her mother had told her to keep it and the doctor had told her that it was too risky for her to remove the six-month-old pregnancy or else she didn't want to have children in future. She'd decided to leave it since no one knew what tomorrow held. What if she met a rich dude who wanted a child first before marriage or something? She later however regretted having the child because of his upkeep even though he kept her mother company. He would be three soon and then she'd have to increase her money for his upkeep since he was bound to start school soon. What rubbish! 


If only she could find a man to take care of her and her family. She'd tried telling her sorry story filled with lies to her customers but nobody wanted a prostitute for a wife. They, prostitutes were only good for using and dumping. And she hadn't been fortunate enough to meet a guy with a briefcase filled with dollars or diamonds or valuable stuff like some of her colleagues. Some had ended up dead when they were caught but some had also resigned and set up businesses. If she had such an opportunity, she would go abroad and totally forget about her mother and son, and start life afresh. After all, she'd told her mother they should look for another fish to fry but she'd insisted on Gio and now they were all paying the price. Maybe she'd meet a white man there and get a green card. It was one of her greatest desires.


"I'm a student of the University of Benin. I'm an orphan. I just use this to keep body and soul alive and pay my fees," she lied shamelessly.


Just maybe this was her knight in shining armor. Just maybe.


People should not talk while they are eating or pepper may go down the wrong way.

**********

It was late in the evening. Motorists could be seen blaring their horns and abusing one another on the busy road. Children who had attended after-school lessons could be seen going home. Some discussing, some playing along the road while some just walking silently. Across the road was an open field where some youths were playing football while people were seated on the broken fence to watch them. The atmosphere was generally busy. The young man just alighted from the motorcycle at the junction of his street when he noticed people running helter skelter and shouting. He wondered what was going on and held a small boy's hand who was running and looking behind him at the same time which had caused him to almost fall on the tarred road.


"What's going on? Why are people running?" Felix asked him.


The boy tried catching his breath by bending before replying. "Na mad dog, sir. One dog don kolo and the owner no dey house," he replied before removing his hand from Felix's and continuing his race.


Oh, not again! Felix mused. To God who made him, he was getting sick and tired of the street he lived in. If it wasn't a loose cow chasing everybody here and there, it was the police who came for yahoo boys or cult boys having a clash. He'd told his parents he didn't want to work in Benin but they'd begged him that they wanted him close instead of Akwa Ibom where he had gotten a job. When his uncle got him a job in a private television station, they'd pleaded with him to accept it, along with the bribe of a self-contained flat in GRA. Now his street was known for its madness.


"That dog better no near me o. I go slap the madness and e life comot for e body. Mtchew," he said to himself as he put his hands inside the pockets of his well-tailored trousers and moved against the people running. He was tired. All he needed was to get home, take a shower and sleep till the following day. He didn't have the time to run around until God bestowed the dog with sanity or it's owner came back. All the shops were locked. People shouted from their houses that he should go back but he didn't listen to them. 


What nonsense! Run because of a mad dog? Na two heads the dog get?


Felix however realized the dog didn't have two heads when he turned at a corner close to his flat and saw the dog using a chicken's bone as tooth pick. The dog was massive. It was as big as a horse. Crossbreeded of course! Wicked people! Who would crossbreed a Caucasian with a German Shepherd? Too late! The dog was even in front of his block of flats. It sighted him and in the blink of an eye started chasing him.


"Blood of God o! Blood of God o!" Felix shouted as he ran. People who were coming back into the street thinking all was uhuru now saw him and took to their heels again. The people who warned him not to go collapsed with laughter when they saw him running faster than Usian Bolt and shouting as well.


Felix ran till he crossed the busy road to the other street. He narrowly missed being hit by a motorcycle. His shoes were nowhere to be found, his necktie was askew around his neck, his white shirt was soaked with sweat and his trousers was stained with dirt due to the dusty ground. He sat down in front of a shop. People had gathered to wonder what was happening. When they saw the big dog trying to cross the road to get to Felix, they fled. 


Felix knew the dog was sent to him by someone in his village when the dog successfully crossed the road and came after him again. Everywhere went haywire as people ran for their dear lives. Just as at a leap, the dog would have jumped on Felix and torn him to pieces, God smiled on him and he saw a beautiful young lady ushering him to quickly run into her house at the eleventh hour. He ran inside her house and she quickly shut the gate, locked it and stepped back as the dog hit it ferociously. 


Felix was already seated on the interlocked tiles, breathing heavily. The girl sat beside him trying to catch her breath, more out of fear than running.


"What did you do to that dog?" she questioned after some minutes had elapsed.


"That," Felix swallowed thickly and let out a deep breath, "isn't a dog. It's my late ex-girlfriend."


The girl giggled helplessly. She rose and stretched a hand to him.


"Come. Let's go inside. Let me get you a cup of cold water."


Felix's gaze moved around the small interlocked compound with potted plants before moving to enter the house through her iron front door. The living room was small but it had enough elbow room and it was cozy. Black and grey settees surrounded a small coffee table with a beautiful flower vase and artificial flowers on it. A mini-sized plasma television was hung against the wall with a DVD player and some DVD plates underneath it. However small, the living room still had a dining area with a round glass dining table and iron chairs. The table contained tins of milo, milk and a container for sugar. There was a cornflakes carton on it, as well as a pack of Nescafe coffee. Beside the table was a small fridge. The girl took one of the glasses on the tray at the top of the fridge, opened the cooling machine and brought out bottled water. She walked slowly back to him, pointed at a chair for him to sit, poured water inside the glass and handed it to him before taking a seat. He smiled his thanks, emptied it before putting it on the table and took a seat a few paces from her.


He sized up the girl and realized she was quite beautiful. She was chocolate-skinned, had a moon-shaped face which made her look likeable and friendly but she was quite short even though very slim. He could bet she was only about five feet three. She'd barely reached his shoulders when she stood beside him. That was none of his business though. After the unfortunate incident with Ivie three years before, he'd decided to stay off girls for the mean time. Of course he would get married someday just to get his mother off his back but he wasn't ready to one bit. At twenty-seven years of age, he felt he still had about three years before thinking of such. It was a dyed-in-the-wool decision. With Ivie, he'd thought he would marry her immediately after his youth service programme was over but since his plans had gone awry, there was no need rushing into marriage now. Girls still chased him but he stayed away from them except when he had to let off steam, but he made sure the girl knew the scores and there were no strings attached or anything. So far he'd been lucky. He'd learnt to take each day as it came.


"What's your name? I'm Felix Eromosele," he quietly said.


"I'm Rhema Okoduwa," she replied with a small smile. 


Rhema? Like seriously? Edo state sabi give strange names sha, he mused. At his office they had someone who was called Brilliant. One of their ex-colleagues was named Excellent. In his service days he'd met a guy called Future and a girl called Amazing. All from Edo state. Just yesterday on his way to work, a mother had called her child, Heaven to get ready for school. What was it with them and such names? Couldn't they name their children such in their native tongues?


"Err...what a nice name," he said, tongue-in-cheek. There was no way in hell he was going to ask her for the meaning. "Where are you from?"


"Irrua. You?"


"Ubiaja."


"Hmm...I served there. Imagine how pissed I was having lived and schooled in this state all my life to still be posted here." Rhema rolled her cat-like eyes.


Local champion! Felix thought.


He however smiled. "I know the feeling. I got a job in Akwa Ibom but my parents didn't want me to go there. Before I could blink, my uncle got me a job here."


Rhema laughed beautifully. "Same here. My dad got me working in the Ministry of Arts and Culture here even though I wanted to go to Lagos to stay with my elder sister."


"Parents!" He shook his head. "Got to love them."


Silence descended then.


"I...err...I really should get going. Thanks for rescuing me from that crazy hound and the red carpet treatment. I really appreciate it."


Rhema smoothened down her peach sun dress and stood, all smiles as Felix rose. "You're welcome." Her gaze fell at his bare feet. "Hold on, let me get you a spare bathroom slippers. You can return it anytime you're free."


Before Felix could refuse, she'd brushed aside the curtain seperating her room from the living room and brought out the multi-couloured slippers which were slightly smaller than his big feet. He thanked her and made his way outside her house with her closely at his heels. He however banged the gate shut when he discovered the dog was still there and had made a nasty snarl at him when he opened the gate. The whole street was as quiet as a graveyard.


"Jeez. That dog means business." Felix sighed. And it was beginning to get dark.


Rhema bit her bottom lip. "Look, I don't mean to sound forward or anything but why don't you stay here for the night or until the owner comes for it? You could sleep on the couch. I just made dinner before I heard the noise outside and came out to investigate. Why dont you join me?"


Otumokpor! Otumokpor! Otumokpor! Felix's brain shouted. 


Over the years, he'd still maintained his rule of never eating any girl's food. But he was dang hungry and after that Olympic hundred meters race, he didn't want to have to go home to start looking for what to eat, that was assuming he went home that night. He was sure that dog from hell wouldn't rest until he bit a sizeable chunk of his butt off. He decided to pretend small talk while inwardly, he would kabash (pray fervently) on the food before eating it.


"If you're sure it isn't much trouble on you, lead the way," he conceded.


A beautiful smile made her face even more beautiful as she walked him back into her house.


Abi na she be the dog sef? Felix wondered as he stepped into the living room.


Our father who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come thy...


He prayed inwardly. Once bitten, twice shy.


The death of a neighbour should not scare you from living.


**********


Gio alighted from the rental car he got after he landed in Kano airport. It had been sheer luck finding it because his flight from Abuja to Kano had been delayed. It was almost 5pm. Driving slowly behind a bus headed for Dutse and also using the GPS on his phone, he'd finally arrived the city his wife was in. His first point of call had been booking himself into the three-star hotel there. After freshening up, he'd decided it was time to look for his estranged wife. Employing the services of a motorcycle rider for help, he'd shown him and read the address Obinna had given him. The motorcyclist had readily obliged him and led him to the compound. 


Grateful for the act, Gio had stretched forth a wad of naira notes to the guy but to his astonishment, the guy had declined and rode off after saying something like, Ba Komi and Allah ki aiye. Gio had said, Allah ki aiye to you too, whatever that meant.


Jeez, where northerners this nice? Then why the suicide bombings and incessant killings? Anyway, the earlier he concluded his business, the better for him. He had clients waiting for him.


G9 Quarters. He guessed this was the GRA of the city. Some of the houses around were beautifully built. He'd been surprised at the level of development in the place as he drove behind the motorcyclist. His architect's eye took in the buildings and infrastructure. One shouldn't really talk if one hadn't been to a place before. Dutse wasn't the backwater he'd thought it was. The governor had done well. During his flight, he'd wondered ceaselessly what Nkiru was doing in the far north. Had her so-called fiancé made her relocate this way? Well, it was time to find out.


He took steps forward and knocked on the ash-blue gate. He knocked twice again before he heard footsteps. His heart beat accelerated. He was going to lay eyes on his wife for the first time in three years since that day she gave him an epic rejection at his father's gate. A deep breath whooshed out of his mouth.


Disappointment clogged his face when a lady from the albino family opened the gate with a spaghetti top and a wrapper tied across her chest. Gio braced himself for the usual stare. And he wasn't disappointed. 


Nkiru's closest neighbour in the compound which housed four flats looked at Gio as if he was a mirage. Wow! The dark blue suit and navy blue shirt and silver necktie the guy had on made him look debonair. And where those Italian shoes? She sure knew about fashion.


Please be looking for me. Please be looking for me. She prayed inwardly.


The time it took for Wunmi to ogle Gio, he used it to look into the compound and was crestfallen that there were about four apartments all lined up to the right in the large compound. So he wouldn't confront Nkiru in private. Damn! The left side held four iron stands with ropes tied on them for sunning clothes and the interlocked tiles had some parts of it broken. Other than that, the compound looked clean and neat. Nkiru definitely lived here. The compound was protected by a high fence and barbed wires at the top.


"Good evening. Please i'm looking for Nkiru Chiwnedu's residence," he politely informed the girl who was still mentally stripping the skin off his body with her stare.


Ha! Nkiru! You're a lucky girl o, she mused before saying outwardly, "The last flat."


"Thank you," Gio replied and waited for her to move before he entered the compound. He walked briskly to the last room, suppressing the urge to turn back and look at the girl who was still standing by the gate eating him up with her eyes. He could hear music coming from the other rooms as he passed them. A room before hers showed the occupant was clearly a fan of Nollywood movies.


Pausing as he stood before Nkiru's door, he took a deep breath and put on his legendary frozen mask. Lifting his hand, his knuckle hit the door twice. 


"Coming," his wife's voice clearly rang out.


Nliru, looking resplendent in a black and white stripped Bodycon dress teamed with red blazers and red high-heeled shoes opened the door. She just got back from the office three minutes ago.


Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. His name she'd been unsure of in her dreams flew into her brain instantly and another memory she couldn't seem to fathom. She and Giovanni in a house?


"Giovanni! How..when...where...ahh...what are you doing here?" Nkiru stammered. Her knees felt as if they were fashioned out of cotton wool and wobbled under her.


"Good question, Mrs. Nkiru Chiwendu Ekwe." He straightened to his six-foot-three frame. "I came to get my wife."


Constriction completely closed her throat. She couldn't breathe, couldn't swallow. Even her heart stopped beating with a violent thump, then set going like a hammer drill against her temple. Sweat began to break out all over her. The room began to fade; tunnelling inwards in decreasing circles. With the word, 'wife' still echoing in her head, she simply closed her eyes and sank like a stone in a dead faint, hoping the gold and brown rug would catch her but her husband caught her in his strong arms just in time.


Anger and madness are brothers.


*To be continued on Saturday*


Thanking you.

Oshe . . Baddest

mitchyy:


Hahahaha. We just want her to know we are looking forward to her update. The story is too captivating to be calm over.
Don't let us give you high BP Audrey. Pls relax and update us well

mitchyyy!!! I sight you

Audrey if this was a radio station, I would have asked them to play "better pikin" by Harrysong for you.... I like the way you visited the lives of your secondary characters and updated us, most times story writers ignore them and forget that an update on what happened to them is necessary too.... May the mallam that sells Biro to you never go on strike. Meanwhile I told you to remove Nkiru from the picture and bring me in, its not fair ooo, I need a taste of Gio too na

Now dats wot u call an UPDAAATEEEEE...
First time I'm commenting here, but an ardent follower
I respect ur skills AudreyTimms
Amazing story u hav here.

Chai....... Saturday is too far now.

yayyyy! this is it, bring it on mehn, I just dey gbadun dis Gio guy, mad or not mad...

Why Saturday;(:@

Wow, well done ma, made my wednesday

Ayayayayayayae this is sensational infact the suspense is just out of dis world

skiibo! wait are you kidding me I'm not sure I can wait till Saturday. But to quote a wise one, 'half a loaf of bread is better than one puff puff'. I'll wait . Thanks for the looooooonnnnnngggggg update. Twas worthwhile the wait

Wow!! Nice update Audrey. Buh Saturday far small ooo

skiibo! wait are you kidding me I'm not sure I can wait till Saturday. But to quote a wise one, 'half a loaf of bread is better than one puff puff' and dis is not even half loaf, its full loaf. I'll wait . Thanks for the looooooonnnnnngggggg update. Twas worthwhile the wait

Audrey I'm really enjoying the story. I'm still way behind in page 7 but I can't just wait to comment. I'm currently serving in akure and reading about ikare akoko and others makes me picture the story as real. keep up the good work. do you have your books in hardcopy? I'll love to buy the hardcopy if available.