Thanks for this wonderful piece.

Thank you for completing this

Thanks for completing
So happy rn �

Welcome back ma'am, hope you've been good? This storyline is completely fantastic. More grease to your elbow.

chisiudeh:
Thanks for the story... Thanks for concluding it but I think you left some part of the story hanging. What happened to Kenneth and Chika. There story is still unresolved.

Kenneth and Chika is a story for another time, if I do get to writing it


I still think Kenneth is a major douchebag, and I don't know if I should be encouraging tropes that have a severely unlikeable fellow finding love.

If I do find a way to turn around Kenneth's character, I could dabble into another story where he and Chika are a couple

The end serves better than the beginning.

Thank you safarigirl.

What next are we reading from you?

***So, someone asked for a Kenneth and Chika story, so, I whipped this up the last 24 hours, even as I'm still not sold on Kenneth as a likeable character. Tell me what you think of this Epilogue if you can. If it's something that can be worked with, all good. If not, we shelve it for now****


ADUNNI OCHE, DAUGHTER OF LATE LEGAL JUGGERNAUT, FRANK OCHE AND SOCIALITE FOLASHADE OCHE, TIES THE KNOT

It was his dream headline, but the body of the story was a nightmare.

Adunni was married…but he was not the groom. No, Kenneth Agbo had lost the race for Adunni's heart and the triumphant man was the same guy he had convinced himself he had successfully taken down only a few months ago.

Pictures of the couple were splashed all over the pages of the high-profile magazine, alongside those of their high-profile guests; judges of various high courts, Senior Advocates, professors of law, business moguls, politicians…any lawyer worth his salt would want to be at that venue for such a wedding. There were enough highly placed men and women at the wedding, to ensure a decent portfolio boost with the right pitch.

Kenneth hadn't been invited for the wedding for glaringly obvious reasons…not that he would have shown up to celebrate his failure even if by some weird stroke of luck, Adunni had sent him an invite.

Yet, as he looked through the pages of the magazine and all the pictures of the smiling couple, he couldn't find the bile he knew should reside within him. For all the years he had invested into being the man whose name Adunni would trade her father's for, he didn't feel as bitter as he thought he would feel. He felt…indifferent.

And as much as he tried to tell himself the reason was something far off and unidentifiable, the reason stood right next to Adunni in some of the pictures.

I admire how dedicated you are in chasing after a woman who won't give you the time of day

Her words rang in his head, an observation on his dogged chase of Adunni, yet, the truth of it continued to haunt him almost two years after Chika had mocked his spirited efforts.

He wasn't chasing this time though, no, more like pining. He had been pining over a woman who wouldn't give him the time of day. With Adunni he had been forward, brimming with confidence and the exuberance of a youth, with Chika, he couldn't dig deep enough to find any of those attributes.

He closed the magazine, a niggling frustration building in his chest. He had bought the magazine on a whim, even the vendor has been somewhat surprised that he had asked specifically for a magazine most popular with female readers, rather than the much more favoured Sports papers men gravitated toward. It was her face that had called out to him, her face grinning from ear to ear had convinced him 1,000 naira was not too much to spend on a magazine he only planned to go through once and not anymore.

An obsession.

These were early signs. He recognised it because once upon a time, he had been just as obsessed with the patriarch of the Oche family so much that he had planned out his entire life to end up as his son in-law.

He did not have a plan this time.

Chika Eze was not born with a silver spoon, she did not have a socialite mother nor a father who had left a lasting impact on any profession. She was not a member of high society. She was not the kind of woman he courted, because he had never seen reason in courting women that were below his social status.

Yet, this mouthy woman who was part of the formidable force that was Adunni Oche's legal team, ruled over his thoughts in ways none of his preferred class of women had been able to.

It was one thing to occasionally fantasize over her, back when she was no more than the obstacle to seeing Adunni at her place of work, but since he had made the rather juvenile error of erasing the line he had drawn in their relationship, since he had closed that space between them and kissed her, his lot had worsened.

He had now gone from plotting toward bagging Adunni, to mapping out all the ways he could shake her P.A out of his system.

Suffice it to say, in the five months since he commissioned that mission, progress had been severely limited.

The rapt knock at his door pulled Kenneth out of his thoughts. There was only one other person in the house aside him- his occasional guest and longtime friend, Dillo.

"Come in." He called out.

Dillo stepped into the room, his rather massive frame immediately making the room appear smaller. Dillo Yunusa was one of few people Kenneth had managed to remain friends with over the years. The 6ft.7 man had once had dreams of being a basketball player and would have probably succeeded in it, if he hadn't had an accident that cut off those dreams the week before he had been set for trials in the NBA.

These days, Dillo was a real estate shark, and shrewd businessman based in Lagos, but whenever he did come down to Abuja, he always had a bed and a hot meal at Kenneth's house.

"Guy, I know say this your city na cemetery compared to Lagos, but I'm sure you can come up with some fun places to hit up on a weekend." Dillo began as he walked further into the room.

Kenneth cracked a smile, "Just because Abuja residents do not spend half of their lifetimes in traffic, does not make this place a cemetery."

"Well, take me somewhere new and interesting and maybe I'll consider your argument."

It was a Saturday. Usually, Kenneth went out partying on Saturdays. Abuja nightlife, contrary to Dillo's argument, was quite interesting and Kenneth had heavily indulged in it over the years.

Perhaps, going out would help get him out of this mood he found himself in.

"I bet you'll be eating your words by the end of the night" he said, Dillo welcomed his brave words with a snicker.

Kenneth dragged himself out of bed, the thought of a fun night out already raising his spirits. Yes, he was going to shelve all thoughts of Adunni and Chika, and have a good time tonight while showing his friend a good time.

Perhaps if he was lucky, he would find some even more interesting girl that would help him get over this need for Chika clawing in his chest.

***
There were a few new and interesting places to show Dillo in Abuja, mostly lounges and bars. They did some drinking and feasting, so when they ended up at a club later that night, they were a little tipsy.

The club lights were distracting, there was some Shisha smoking, and Dillo had no shortage of interested women, so the friends soon parted ways. Kenneth did more drinking, and while he did pull female attention, for some reason, none of the women could hold his…not until his slightly inebriated gaze found an interesting sight dancing by the corner.

She had been on the cover of the magazine, but there was no way she could have followed the happy couple to their honeymoon, still, he had been thinking of her a lot lately, and coupled with his drunken state, she could very well be a figment of his imagination.

Nevertheless, Kenneth found his way toward the woman who bore a striking resemblance to Chika.

He was in her space within minutes. She recognised him, said something about Adunni's wedding. It could have been a mocking sentence, but Kenneth was too drunk to pick offense, and was also heavily distracted by the rather flimsy dress she had on. If he thought her clothes at the office bordered on inappropriate, her choice of outfit at the club was downright scandalous.

It was a very short dress, with slits on both sides, further accentuating her long legs and shapely thighs, spaghetti straps and a neckline that thoroughly showed off the swell of her full breasts.

He asked her why she was alone at the club, she may have told him something about minding his business. Kenneth was certain he was drunk. The fact that Chika, despite rimming into him, still had a teasing smile on her face, told him she was nowhere close to being sober either. Sober Chika never smiled at him.

He was drunk. She was drunk….she probably wasn't even real. Just a figment of his imagination. He moved closer to test his theory, closing the space between them. His hand came around her waist. She smirked at him and told him she was no rebound girl…at least that's what he thought she said.

But she didn't push him away…because she wasn't real. If this fantasy had lasted this long, Kenneth planned to take all his chances.

So, he leaned in and stole his kiss.

It was electric, charging him up even more than the first time he had kissed her.

There was no push, no slap. Yes, definitely a figment of his imagination, maybe even a vivid dream.

If he had any luck, the alarm wouldn't ring until he was ready to wake up.


***

"Shit!"

He had not programmed any alarm with that word.

And as Kenneth opened his eyes groggily to daylight, that wasn't the only strange thing he found.

He wasn't in his bed either. He sat up quickly, a new sense of alarm attacking his insides.

Where was…?

He turned to his left, and felt his heart still at the sight before him. Chika was right next to him, holding her duvet tightly to her chest. Her shoulders were bare, her eyes were wide in disbelief, her hair disheveled.

He didn't need to look beneath the covers to be aware of his own state of UnCloth.

Shit! indeed.



*That's it guys. Like I said, feedback will be appreciated. To proceed or to bin?*

Please proceed ma’am

Biko continue ooo

Kenneth n Chika is just like a nuke waiting for detonation. Thanks Safari girl.. Looking forward to the next one..

Interesting continuation of the chika character.

This night is a beginning of many things.

Please continue.

Chika is a girl worth the challenge of Kenneth.

@safarigirl

Too soon?
I never expected the story to end this soon. I expected more. I feel there's more to be told, more to be explored, more to be portrayed but anyways we move.

The story, despite it's disappointing length, is a beautiful, thrilling, amazing and awesome one.

As a writer, I must commend, I love your writing style. From your dialogues to your narrations, everything reek of beauty.

I'll advise you create a spin off story centred on Kenneth and Chika and please don't make it short, it should be vast. Their story gat potentials. There is a lot to tell, show and explore from that angle.

Once again, thanks for this amazing story.

Please there's a writer's whatsapp group I'll love you to be a part of. Name of the book is StarlyBooks Writers. More informations will be given on the group. If you're interested, hit me up on WhatsApp 09079893607. Name is Xavier.
Please, I'm not the creator of the group neither am I an admin, I just feel it's a group you should be a part of and trust me, you will love it.

Take care of ya self


#Xavier

@safarigirl

Too soon?
I never expected the story to end this soon, I expected more. To be candid, I feel there's a lot in this story that wasn't touched, stories that weren't explored. I feel the true potential of the story wasn't showcased, and I'll be lying even if I said I'm not disappointed but anyways I move.

Aside that, this story itself is pure definition of incredible, thrilling goodness.

As a fellow writer, I must commend, you're writing style, right from the dialogues to the narrations are truly beautiful. Well done and more grace


PS: Please connect to me, Email wise, by replying my mail, there's a message I will love to Email across to you. Thanks.

#Xavier

Please continue!!! This sounds like another blockbuster story loading. We are waiting eagerly

Xavier5:
@safarigirl

Too soon?
I never expected the story to end this soon, I expected more. To be candid, I feel there's a lot in this story that wasn't touched, stories that weren't explored. I feel the true potential of the story wasn't showcased, and I'll be lying even if I said I'm not disappointed but anyways I move.

Aside that, this story itself is pure definition of incredible, thrilling goodness.

As a fellow writer, I must commend, you're writing style, right from the dialogues to the narrations are truly beautiful. Well done and more grace


PS: Please connect to me, Email wise, by replying my mail, there's a message I will love to Email across to you. Thanks.

#Xavier

Thanks for your observation.

I've reached out to you twice via email, and you are yet to respond to either.

safarigirl:


Thanks for your observation.

I've reached out to you twice via email, and you are yet to respond to either.

Oops, sorry for the irresponse. I wasn't notified. I'm glad you reached out.

I've replied your mail. Once again, thanks for reaching out

#Xavier