₦airaland Forum

Pheezie:
I'll buy it when i repair my phone then.
Can i send you the money so you can send it to my mail as pdf?

I don't sell directly anymore

Pheezie:
Can you please share the link abeg?
And I'm using a java phone(not android),will i be able to download and view the book after buying?

https://okadabooks.com/search?query=Peju%2520amadi

You should be able to if you use the browser. I doubt the app would work on your phone.

Pheezie:
I didn't mean it as an insult if you take it as one I'm sorry.
But i know at least 25 readers and followers of your thread who din't get to finish false pretences which i happen to be among them.

no wahala... False Pretenses is available on the okadabooks app for just 300 bucks.

Pheezie:
Thanks for the mention Pabon.
I must commend you for this story.
It's a masterpiece.
It's not everyday someone get to read supernatural & adventure story on NL.
Also about your question...
I'll gladly buy your story if you put it for sale so far if you give assurance that it's good.
I just will like to call your attention to something first.
Have you read story like False Pretences by repogirl?
That story is a masterpiece but she decided to take it to her blog or okadabooks for sale and she lose alot of readers.
That's why i'll always respect Centino the writer of 225 Katakata Street,He frankly said he won't take his story to okadabooks to make 200naira airtime and lose his readers and recognition as a writers.
I strongly will like you to consider your options well because most readers don't buy book from site.
I pray God help you to publish out in a real book soon(est)
I am Pheezie.

False Pretenses that made me a best selling author on okadabooks for the year 2016? That's two years after it was initially completed.... Even today I'm still getting readers asking me to send the concluding chapters.
Where do you people get these your fake news from? LMAO!!!

Emperortj93:
i have being on nairaland for the better part of a decade and everytime one good writer spring up, the next thing you read from everyone is "go publish", "open your own site and drive in traffic", blah the blah.
But the sad truth is after awhile, everyone abandon such writer. I can name 20 good (if not excellent) writers off the top of my head that followed said advice and nothing to show. Ask Frank3.17 how many book he sold when he first got published after all the hype and clamour or repogirl how many people visit her site after all the clamour. please centino, don't do it if you don't wanna.

I love the story and the writer alot and I don't want you to go like the rest

please don't talk about things you dont know about... Centino, as long as your work is great and you keep being consistent, your fans will follow you wherever you go.
This is not just about making money but reaching a larger audience, showcasing your work to the world outside of Nairaland, and of course getting rewarded for your effort.
Till today, I still have fans begging for updates, and I wish I could but alas, I have other things I'm into now. Lord knows the massive traffic my sites were receiving at the peak of my writing,
... Ask Zuby77 and later Nigerian writers hub.....

Writers like moskedapages, TM David West, Naijasinglegirl are doing so well with their websites and publishing. My advice to you is be consistent, and you will reap the rewards of your efforts.

Centino, take youngzubi's advice and make a name for yourself.

PRESENT DAY



Mofe woke up with a jolt from the dream he'd been having. Her again. Ezinne.

It had been more of a memory than a dream. A memory that racked up guilty feelings within him.

He really shouldn't have kissed her last night. Now the tortured dreams were back. He'd dreamt of kissing her and recalling the promises he'd made to her all those years ago. Just when he thought he’d gotten a hold on the dreams, they seemed to be back with full force. Was it being away from her that brought them on or was it because of their brief relations last night? He wondered and couldn't decide.

“Are you okay sir?” The female flight attendant asked.

“Yeah... er… I'm okay.” He replied sitting up, snapping himself out of it.

“We will be landing shortly. Would you like something to drink just before we do?” She asked with the customary polite smile.

“No, I'm fine.” He said dismissing her with a wave. He needed to get himself together for Eve. He couldn't have Ezinne on his mind when he told Eve that he finally wanted to tie the knot with her.

This was the wrong time to be dreaming about the promises he'd made to Ezinne when they had been younger. Not now when he had was about to take such a big step in his life. He prided himself on being a man of his word but what sort of man was he really?

He told himself he couldn't be blamed for what happened between them. What they had was gone thanks to the external factors who had contributed immensely in ruining it. Now all he and Ezinne had was history.

They were history but thoughts of her still plagued his mind? He asked himself. Dreaming about her sent blood gushing to a certain part of his body and he couldn't be in the same room without meaning to pull her to himself, feel her body against his as he kissed and did other things to her. Clearly what they had wasn't historic but there was nothing to be done about it. He knew who he wanted to be with.

She was Eve, the woman who always put him ahead of herself. The woman who had clung to him for years now patiently. He had been with her for longer than he and Ezinne ever were. She deserved this. She deserved him.

He sounded like he was doing this out of pity. Pity for Eve, he thought. Sighing, he realised he wasn’t sure about anything anymore.

How could he still want her this much? Just a few weeks back home and she had him in a fix over her like this. He probably should never have gone back to look for her.

'Then you would have kept being haunted by her and you would have not known about Azora.’ his mind's voice reminded.

Azora, he smiled as he thought about his beautiful daughter. That was one beautiful thing he'd done with Ezinne, and he still marvelled at how she could have kept her from him all these years.

Thinking about what she'd done got him mad at her all over again. There was nothing more to consider, Eve was the one he should be with. She didn't get him riled up and angry like Ezinne did.

She would be surprised to see him, he thought recalling how Eve’s face brightened when she was taken unawares or by surprise. He recalled how happy she’d been when he had surprised her with the engagement ring. The custom made rock on it had cost a few million dollars but he knew her real joy was that he’d finally committed to her. He knew she had been sort of insecure, probably fearing he wouldn’t be able to move past his issues and commit to her. He’d really surprised her but when he’d not been forthcoming with a wedding date, she’d begun to worry all over again.

Now they still had a few unsettled issues but he was very positive they would move past it. He recalled their last fight where she hadn't believed Azora was his and had insisted he did tests. She had ignored him since then and he could only hope she'd calmed down a bit and seeing him back would put her fears abed.

He wasn't sure why she would feel threatened by him having a kid with Ezinne. It didn't change anything. He was going to do right by her like he'd promised and not even his tortured dreams or wanting Ezinne would change that. She had shown over the few years they'd been together that she was committed to him and their future. She had nothing to fear.

Suddenly the thought, 'Ezinne for Mofe’ flashed through his mind and he recalled he'd once made same promises to Ezinne.

“Water under the bridge.” He muttered deciding to do something else other than mope about his complicated life. He needed to send a few messages, let some people know he was back, that would definitely occupy his mind for a while and block all thoughts of Ezinne for now.
*******

It was past the end of day at the centre and Ezinne was tired out but refused to leave until she was done going over the staff lesson notes for the coming week. Thoughts of a quick shower and short nap before dinner plagued her but she purposed to only leave the office when she was through with work.

The centre had employed more staff and that should have eased her work load quite a bit but someone had to supervise the staff. Mofe had employed a new Principal but she had stayed on director of studies. The centre was her project, she had invested so much into it and she was going to directly supervise the staff even if it was tedious.

The new Principal was quite good at his job. He had experience managing previous rehab centres similar to hers. She got along well with him as he was really good with the staff and students. He was a real hard worker and Ezinne could tell he was passionate about what he did.

She’d had a heated debate with Mofe over retaining the position in the centre and had won. He'd expected her to let go of her heavy work schedule but she hadn't agreed. Might be foolish but she believed no one would do the job better than she did. Mofe had given in but had gotten her the Principal to help her out. What he didn't know was that even with the Principal, she chose to have most of the work pass through her desk. She just couldn't sit back and let someone else make all the decisions concerning her students.

The knock on the door interrupted her.

“Yeah, come in.” She called out, taking a break from the notes she'd been reading with her fingers.

“Hey, Madam.”

It was the new Principal, Anthony, as he insisted on being called. Since she couldn’t see faces, she’d gotten quite used to recognising people by memorising things about them their voices, their walk and even their scent. She knew Anthony by his voice and when he stood quite close. Sometimes when he arrived before her in the mornings, she could tell by the slight scent of his male musky perfume in the hallway of the office and it was quite nice.

“Hi, Anthony. You're still around?” She asked. It was about three hours past closing time. Like her, he stayed late most of the time so she wasn't really surprised.

“Yeah, same thing I was wondering about you. I was just leaving when on a hunch, I decided to check on you. Everyone is gone, even Maureen, you know?”

She nodded. “I do. I just had to finish with these notes before leaving. My driver is still around,so I'm not totally alone.”

“You know I already checked out those notes,right? And I was also very thorough.” He said and she nodded.

“I know, I know Tony, they're almost perfect and I can tell you looked at it. I just want to go over again,you know? Just to have an idea the topics the students are presently learning, that's all.”

“Alright ma'am, that's fine but if you don't mind my saying so, it's nearing five pm and it will be getting dark soon.”

“Don't worry Tony, I'll be long gone before then. I'm almost done here.” She reassured him with a smile. Flattered that he cared for her safety when he really didn’t have to worry. Mofe’s personal driver was waiting for her, and from the feel of the man’s biceps when he assisted her into the car, she knew he was no mere driver.

“Alright then, I guess I'll just..,..” His voice trailed off and she heard the other door close. The outer door to the building and footsteps approached.

“Can I help you, Sir?” She heard Tony ask the new comer.

Straining her ears, she heard a very familiar male voice reply him. “Hi, I'm here to see Ezinne Onu, please.”

“You mean Mrs. Ezinne Amah?” Tony asked.

She knew that voice but as the man was quite a distance away and outside her office door,she couldn't place it. Who could this be that still referred to her by her maiden name. She had kept Ekene’s name even after his death but this person didn’t know that.

“Yes, that’s who I meant.”

“Is she expecting you?” Tony asked back and she almost smiled as she wondered if he'd done receptionist work before.

“No, but it's really important I see her.” He replied.

Ezinne closed her eyes, trying to recall that voice.

“What's the name?” Tony asked.

“Eric… Eric Abayomi is my name.”

Ezinne froze on hearing his reply. Eric! Yes, it was him alright. She had probably not recognised it because it was without the usual sneer she had gotten used to whenever he talked to her.

What in the world was he doing here? What did he want? Eric had always hated her for whatever reasons best known to him. Had he come to see for himself how low off the pedestal of greatness she had fallen?

She vividly recalled the role he played in keeping Mofe away from her. He had lied to her all those years ago. Callously, he'd told her Mofe had moved on, didn't want to hear from her and he wasn't sure how to reach him even if he wanted to. He had hit the final nail on its head, made her shut down her feelings for his cousin vowing to herself to keep her baby away from her father and his family.

What did he want now? To taunt her some more? To harass her? Did he think she and Mofe were patching things up and now that Mofe had travelled, he had come over to harass her all over again?

No, she was quite sure Mofe would have told him they could barely stand each other’s presence. They had been quite close back then and she knew they would still be.

“Madam….madam!” Tony called, jarring her from her thoughts.

“Yeah….yeah?” She asked snapping out of it.

“Are you alright?” Tony asked. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

Somehow, she had missed him coming closer to her. His voice was much closer than before and she could sense the concern in it.

“I'll be good, don't worry.” She struggled to say as calmly as she could, not at all feeling calm.

“Okay, you have an Eric here to see you, should I let him in here or have him come some other ….”

“Let him in.” Ezinne said suddenly.

“Err… are you sure?” He sounded unsure, her features must have betrayed her. He knew something was wrong.

“Yeah.” She said. She needed to know what he was here for and give him a piece of her mind also. She had to let him know what she thought about his despicable acts all those years ago. This would contribute a great deal to her healing process. She needed this. “Send him in.”

******

Present day

Ezinne felt quite ashamed. So much for priding herself on non-intimacy all these years, claiming she’d chosen to be celibate when the truth had been that she’d never had the opportunity. Mofe had touched her a little and she’d all but melted into him like butter on a heated pan, begging him to take her. If he hadn’t gently let her down, she would have let him go all the way, she was sure.

The most embarrassing part of it wasn’t even the letdown. It was the note he had left this morning, notifying her he was going back to the states briefly to take care of some things.

She didn’t need a rocket scientist to tell her why he’d left. He was giving her some distance and she didn’t blame him. She should have comported herself better, and not acted Like a wanton slut. If she’d known he was engaged she probably wouldn’t have been so eager to give it all up to him.

Even if he’d been the first to initiate the kiss but she shouldn’t have acted so eager for it also. She should have stopped him but she’d been weak. It had been a while…. A long while since anyone had touched her since he’d touched her.

She’d been having the usual nightmares, tormented by Kene and then his figure had suddenly faded off and instead Mofe had appeared. In her dreams, all she saw were shadows. She’d known him by his voice and she remembered drawing him in for a kiss.

It had felt so real that she knew something had to be wrong. The feeling of his hands on her shoulders and how her body had reacted as he’d kissed her had told her it had been more than a dream and she’d called his name to be sure and had been surprised it had really been him.

Now she was in the car on her way to work and couldn’t shake the events of the night before. It would haunt her for a while. She in Mofe’s arms, crushing him to herself, the feeling of his warm breath fanning her neck. The slightly familiar feeling of the evidence of his arousal grazing her thigh.

“Do you know when Uncle MJ will be back?” Azora asked quietly and it jarred Ezinne out of her sleazy thoughts as she remembered her daughter was also in the car.

She could sense Azora was seated at the end of the back seat, away from her, closer to the car door. It was as if she didn’t want any sort of contact between them. This disturbed Ezinne because Azora used to love holding on to her any chance she got. Their fights had never lasted more than a night. Things were different now.

Her daughter was still peeved after their spat of last night and in addition to that Azora had woken up to see that Ezinne had locked off the gaming room till further notice. She hadn’t spoken much all morning and this troubled Ezinne.

“I’m not sure dear, he didn’t say,” Ezinne replied.

“But he will be back?” She asked to be sure.

“Yes, he definitely will,” Ezinne replied not exactly looking forward to his return. She wondered at how they had bonded so quickly. The games and awesome new stuff definitely had a lot to do with it, Ezinne thought jealously.

It was probably a good thing he had left, might give her a chance to get her daughter back now that he was out of the picture.

But locking her out of the gaming room wouldn’t score any points in her favour. Ezinne had to review her decision, maybe she could draw up some sort of timetable instead of totally barring her from the place.

“Did he say why he left?” Azora asked again

Ezinne frowned,”He didn’t exactly say, but I guess he has some important business to take care of back home…. You know he’s based in the States? He has business over there.” She added purposefully trying to get her daughter to know that More might not be a permanent fixture in her life.

“So… you didn’t have a fight with him or anything? “ she asked back and Ezinne had to frown.

Had Azora heard their quarrel in the dining room the night before? If she had, it wouldn’t be great to lie about it.

“We… um..we had a little disagreement at dinner last night but we talked over it later, so I’m quite sure he didn’t leave because of that. It’s quite normal for friends to disagree now and then. I’m quite sure you and your friends disagree on stuff once in a while?”

She and Mofe were definitely not friends but she couldn’t come up with a better explanation for her daughter.

Zora didn’t reply and Ezinne was tempted to repeat the question but knew she should let her be. She would come around later, she didn’t need to force her daughter to speak to her at the moment.

Meanwhile, she hoped More stayed away for a long while. His presence caused too much unease. Not just between she and Zora but in Ezinne’s head. She’d always wondered if she’d been over him, now she suspected more clearly than ever that she wasn’t.

He claimed he had moved on but she hadn’t and it was foolish harbouring feelings for him. She would need to steel herself from him before he returned from his journey, bringing his chaos back into her and her daughter’s lives.

*********

Mofe was just about ready to leave for the airport. He’d branched by the office to finish off some work before heading out to his Private Jet. He’d spent more time than he’d planned already, and needed to get out as soon as he could.

He got up from his desk and began putting together his notebook computer and other effects he would be leaving with when the door to his office was suddenly jarred open amidst shouting and struggle.

He looked up sharply to see the receptionist who looked confused and very flustered along with some guys from security. Before she spoke he heard the commotion going on out in the hallway and looked in that direction through the open door.

“Is there a problem, Agnes?”

“I’m sorry Sir, but there’s a man here to see you. He has no appointment and when I told him you are unavailable as you are on your way out, he barged into the building. Security is holding him back but he says you know him.”

“Okay, what’s the name?” He asked now placing the power pack of the notebook into the case, curious to know what this was about.

“Err…Retired General Onu, Sir.” She replied and he looked at her sharply.

“Onu!” He repeated.

“Yes Sir…..”

Ezinne’s dad was here. How the hell had this happened? He wasn’t ready for the man yet. He’d hoped to pay him a visit at the right time which definitely wasn’t now.

Him showing up here was not the plan at all but what could he do? The man was here already.

“Show him in,” Mofe told the secretary. He might not be ready to see the man but he sure as hell wasn’t running from him.

Keeping his backpack under the desk, he returned to his seat. He had been looking forward to this for years now.

The door reopened and the man was ushered in.

Mofe relaxed back into his seat as he planned to enjoy this moment of reckoning as well as he could.

“Hello, General.” He greeted as the man stood in a spot, staring at him transfixed. “If I’d known you would be gracing me with your presence today, I might have made better arrangements…. You’re still welcome none the less, please have a seat.”

“You!” was all the old man could mutter as he stared, a surprised look on his middle-aged face as he took Mofe in.

What Mofe wouldn’t have given this very moment for a lasting image of the General’s stunned expression. The old man had aged quite well. He still stood tall and proud, his face though older still had that autocratic commanding look that begged no defiance. His hair had more grey in it now but he wasn’t the weather-worn man Mofe had expected him to be, especially as Mofe had turned up the heat beneath him by buying over his company.

The company had been repossessed because the General had defaulted on some huge loans. Mofe had bought it from the bank but the plan had been to expose the Generals fraudulent financial activities with the business which ran the company into the ground. He had intended to take the case to the financial crimes commission and have him prosecuted.

Mofe’s plan was to break this man to size. He’d been biding his time but now seeing him, he was considering putting more pressure onto him. He wanted the old man groveling and begging him to stop.

The man shuffled forward slowly, still staring at him, “ I didn’t want to believe it but it’s you, you are back…. Mofe, is it?”

Mofe shrugged with a smirk as he replied, “Yes, it is me and I’m back… after all this time.”

“After all this time,” The man echoed, “and obviously, you still carry a grudge.”

“A grudge?” Mofe asked.

“Yes of course…. Isn’t that why you bought my company? Isn’t that why you are liquidating it and isn’t that why you opened an investigation into its accounts? An investigation into the way funds were handled when I owned the company…. All this because of something that happened over ten years back.”

Mofe shrugged. “Well….I’m a thorough business man, I acquired a company overrun in debt which I have to pay off. Now, why would I pay off its debt without trying to find out where the money went in the first place? I wouldn’t call that holding a grudge, just being thorough.”

“Oh please…” The General scoffed. “You and I both know what this is, don’t try to justify it any other way.”

Mofe shrugged lazily, “Okay then, I won’t. Yes, I am holding more than a simple grudge, I have my personal feelings invested in this. You are going to jail for embezzlement one way or another.”

One way or another, Mofe thought, he was going to atone for every sin committed in the past.

Now that he had confessed, the General slumped into the chair Mode had long since offered him.

“Are you okay, Sir?” Mofe had to ask seeing the man go so still. He had to be sure a cardiac arrest wasn’t setting in.

When he got no reply from the man who was now staring at nothing exactly, he sat up in his seat.

“General,” he called. “ Are you alright?”

“How can I be alright? I find out the ex-boyfriend of my daughter holds a grudge over events that happened over ten years back, so he buys my company and is doing all he can to send me to jail. How do you expect me to be alright?” He spat angrily.

Seeing that he was talking again, Mofe relaxed a little. He wanted the man to suffer, not die. There wouldn’t be much fun if he died before the fun really began.

“I’m not doing this entirely for myself, you know?” Mofe told him. “Ezinne told me everything that happened… how you forced her to marry Ekene despite knowing she was pregnant for me. Passing my child as the other man’s…The hell she endured…The hell which you contributed immensely. You knew what the bastard was doing but didn’t interfere. Everything that’s happened to her is all on you! She’s lost the use of her eyes because of the selfish decisions you made. She can’t do much without someone aiding her because of your selfishness. Hell! She doesn’t even know how her daughter looks anymore… and it’s all thanks to you.

I loved her so much but as I wasn’t good enough for your standards, you connived with my cousin and got me out of the picture.

So do I hold a grudge? Of course, I do. When someone I love is treated unjustly, I do something about it unlike you. I make someone pay for it and that someone this time is you, General.”

“And you think I don’t regret my past actions? That I don’t suffer in my own way after all that happened? You think I enjoy what happened to my only child?” The General asked back.

Mofe raised a brow unaffected by the General’s seemingly emotional outburst.

He shrugged as he spoke, “None of that matters to me…. I don’t really care what you feel.”

“So…What next after you get me in jail? What next, you and Ezinne will feel better with yourselves? How does she feel about you sending her own father to jail?”

“Leave her out of this. This is between the both of us.” Mofe pointed.

The man narrowed his eyes thoughtful, “she doesn’t know, does she. You didn’t tell her….I know my daughter, she would never allow this if she knew. She’s too good-natured, too forgiving send her father to jail.”

Mofe scoffed before replying, “trust me, Sir, she hasn’t forgiven you…but like I said, this is between you and I. This is something I’m doing to feel better about the decision I was forced to take all those years ago.”

“So you two back together now? You went out there, made your money and name for yourself, then came back for her. Proving me wrong that you wouldn’t amount to much and you truly love her….. and I know my daughter, she never got over you….You must be having the last laugh now, aren’t you?” He asked gazing at him with a self-deprecating smirk.

“Yes, I am.” He replied not bothering to correct the old man that he and Ezinne weren’t exactly in the best terms at the moment. He wouldn’t give the man the satisfaction of thinking he’d won, he could see the General already regretted his past transgressions. He had the look of a beaten man. He’d lost his power, clout, business, and daughter. Mofe saw all this just looking at him now and felt nothing for him, not even pity.

The man had destroyed so many lives with his meddling and persecutions. Mofe would deal him the final blow by making sure he went to prison.

“Now that we’ve had this reunion, can you leave? I have a flight scheduled and even though it’s a private flight, I still have to be on time.”

He got up from his seat and the General got up too, aided by his walking stick.

“This isn’t over, you know?” The general said. Like a drowning man, Mofe expected he would fight till his last breath. “I won’t just sit back and let you do this.”

“Well… General, feel free to do what you have to do because I will surely do what I need to.” He replied before adding dismissively, “have a nice day, Sir.”

Without another word, the elderly man walked out of his office. Mofe stared at his retreating back not knowing what the man planned to do but whatever it was, he couldn’t escape this. He would pay dearly for all the pain he’d caused.

As he watched the man leave he could help but think about something he’d said, that Ezinne had never gotten over him and he recalled once again their brief passionate session the night before. How far he’d been willing to take it and knowing she wouldn’t have minded going there with him.

He recalled her disappointment when he’d said he was engaged to be married. She’d tried covering it up quickly but hadn’t been too successful.

He sighed, picking up the backpack once again as he would be late if he didn’t leave now.

There was nothing to be done about whatever feelings still lingered between them now. Too much water under the bridge and he was with someone else. He needed to do right by the woman he was with.

*********

CHAPTER 14

Eleven years ago

It was project defence day and Ezinne was running quite late. She wasn't too worried though. She knew the defence would begin before she arrived but she would get there well before it would be her turn. She felt overly prepared for it and was confident about her performance. Mofe had revised with her and coupled with the awesome application he'd assisted her with, she surely believed she would be getting an A.

As she drove out of her compound, she parked at the gate to the compound next door where Mofe stayed. It was time to call off their misunderstanding. She had missed him and had forgiven him for keeping the news that he would be leaving the country soon from her. She didn’t want to stay mad at at him anymore. She had been up for a while the night before thinking about it after the spat with her father and had decided she knew him. Mofe Was Crazy about her, just as she was for him, maybe even more. He would never hurt her deliberately, she trusted him that much.

She would just have to make do with the long distance thing when he left. She didn't know how she would survive it but when the time comes she would sort it out then.

Stepping outside the car, she unbolted the gate to his compound the way he had shown her. She wasn't sure if he'd left for school yet but she would check. Knowing him, he was probably already gone as he was such a stickler to time.

She got to the BQ building and was about knocking when she saw saw the door was slightly open.

“Hello…. Mofe?” She called as she pushed the door open. The room was dark but she could make out a figure on the bed.

It was Mofe’s aunt.

She was lying down but Ezinne heard her groaning lightly.

“Aunty, are you okay?” She asked as she stepped into the room, dropping to her knees by the older woman.

Her eyes were closed and she wasn't responsive but she kept groaning lowly. She recalled that the woman was diabetic. Could she be going having a crisis? This didn't look good at all.

“Aunty, where's Mofe? You don't look good… we need to get you to a hospital…”

“Mofe…is not...In... Eric…..” The woman managed weakly.

Ezinne didn't want to believe they had left her alone at home like this.
She brought out her phone to begin calling Mofe when the door suddenly opened and Eric barged in. He looked sweaty and was panting like he'd been running and was out of breath.

“What are you doing here? Mofe has left for school.” He said brusquely noticing her presence as he brushed past her to look down at his mother.

“Mom, I have your medicine here.” He said to her as he laid the back of his hand upon her forehead as if checking for a fever.

“If she is having a crisis, she needs a doctor.” Ezinne asked him, ignoring his attitude problems. She already knew he didn't like her. The feeling was quite mutual.

“What do you know about her condition?” He asked rudely.

“Look, just help me get her into the car. She's too weak to even speak. This is more than we can handle here.”

“We?” He asked her. “This is not your problem, don't you have your project defense or something today?”

“If you are not going to help me get her in the car, I will take her there myself and drive her to the hospital.” She told him walking to the door. She would open the gates herself, drive into the compound and carry the woman into the car if Eric kept up with his nasty attitude.

The woman was weak and Ezinne suspected she might slip into a coma or unconsciousness if she wasn't looked at by a professional quickly.

“Wait where are you going?” Eric called but Ezinne didn't answer. She didn't have time for his annoying self. She would do what she had to for Mofe’s aunt. Even if it meant missing her defence.

*******

Mofe had lost count of the number of times he'd checked his wristwatch. Project defence was almost over and Ezinne had not turned up. She couldn't have suddenly developed cold feet, could she? She'd given him the impression that she'd been ready, why the sudden no show?

She wasn't also picking her calls and he was worried. So worried he had pushed his defense till he was the last person.

Now it was finally his turn as everyone had done theirs. He was stalling and over explaining everything just to bide time, hoping that Zinny would show up soon.

“Is there a reason you keep glancing at your wrist watch,” one of the examiners asked.

“Erm.. No Sir. Just checking to see I'm not spending too much time.” He lied knowing he had spent more time than necessary but as he was the last person in the class to do his presentation, the examiners didn't mind. They also seemed to be enjoying his project choice.

They had thrown him questions which he'd answered brilliantly but now it seemed they had run out of questions.

“Okay let's see your application.” One of them asked.

Mofe’s face fell. This was the last stage and it would be quite brief. He had to stall some more.

He proceeded to boot up the computer he'd borrowed from a course mate knowing the system was really slow to start up. One had to wait almost ten whole minutes before it concluded it's booting process.

The examiners chose to be patient as he spent another fifteen minutes taking them through everything.

They asked more questions and just as they were rounding up, he saw Ezinne come through the door. Looking a bit flustered, she held her laptop in hand.

“Thank goodness.” He muttered.

“What's that?” A lecturer asked.

“Nothing sir.” He said quickly. “The last student is ready sir, am I free to leave?”

“Last student? There's still one more student?” The HOD asked and he nodded.

“Yes Sir, Ezinne Onu.” Mofe supplied knowing the man was quite disappointed at not being able to leave yet. One more student wouldn't kill him,Mofe thought silently.

“Send her in.” The HOD replied. “Very impressive work as usual, Mofe.”

“Thank you sir.” He replied knowing that was extremely high praise coming from his supervisor but his eyes were on Ezinne. He was curious to know what had kept her so long

She was outside the HODs office, waiting for him to be done before coming in.

He picked up the laptop along with his other materials and walked over to her. “Where the hell have you been, Ezinne?” He asked struggling to keep his voice down. “You're the last here, I had to stall for you for almost an hour now or it would have ended. I tried your number several times but you didn't pick.”

“Calm down Mofe, I will explain later but you really need to call your cousin immediately. There's been an emergency.” She said quickly.

“What?... What happened?” He asked, suddenly troubled.

“I can't talk now, just call your cousin now, please.” She said before walking into the office.

Emergency? What emergency? He wondered as he exited the computer lab immediately to make the call. From Ezinne's tone it had sounded pretty important.

Eric picked on the first ring.

“Eric, what's the problem.” He asked without bothering with any pleasantries.

“ Mofe, It's mom….”

“Mom! What's wrong with mom?” He asked immediately fearing the worst.

“She came over after you'd left for school, she seemed really ill and I realized she didn't come with her medication so I went to get them and ….”

“Get to the point Eric! Where is she now?” He asked cutting him off mid sentence, silently praying his aunt was fine.

“At the hospital, Zinny brought her here.”

“Hospital?” He yelled in shock. For her to be at the hospital meant it had been pretty serious. “She had a crisis? Is she going to be fine?”

“I think so… The doctors are still monitoring her but it seems they intervened in time. She's still unconscious but they said she should come out of it soon.”

“Goodness! What hospital are you now? I'm coming over.”

Eric gave him the details as he rushed back into the lab for his stuff. He couldn't wait a second longer. He would have to see Ezinne later, right now his aunt needed him.
******

Alicapapaya:
Hope it's the continuation of FAFA.... Biko if na for sale tell us so we buy and move to the next, for free or for sale, we are ready ma.... Miss you oh

It's not yet for sale. I'm still posting for free.

Hauneg:
Jesu!!!

Yup...something is coming.....

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