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Christine Onyinye Nwafor

The scorching sun on my skin had me on the verge of melting into liquid and I found myself wishing for the nth time that I had a car. Unfortunately, my ride for the day, Chinedum, had called in busy at the last minute and bailed out on picking me hence, disrupting our plans for later today.

I didn't want to be pissed at her cause whatever she had to do, she'd said was important after apologizing furiously, but I couldn't help the slight annoyance that tingled in me regardless.

Thankfully, the distance from my class hall to the school shuttle wasn't too long so I made the walk in quick strides, eager to be out of the raging May sun.

The shuttle dropped me at the next stop which was around the cafeteria so I just walked in after little contemplation. Nedum and I were supposed to grab some food together but since she bailed, I saw that as no reason to go hungry.

The coolness of the Air Con against my skin the minute I walked into the hall was a welcome relieve. The space wasn't too crowded and I was grateful for that as I joined the short queue and got some food. With my tray of lunch in hand, I made my way to a table in a corner of the room.

For some reason, I didn't feel in the mood to socialize or have conversation with anyone. My head had been pounding ever since I walked out of that lecture room and the pain didn't seem like it'd be easing up anytime soon. I really just wanted to eat peacefully, and make my way to my room to sleep after having a long and relaxing bath. But then I remembered that my room wouldn't be empty. I mentally released a groan as I focused on the food before me.

Unfortunately, fifteen minutes in, I was forced to do the opposite of what I wanted.

Hassan walked past me with his usual group of friends. I'd seen him hanging out with them a couple of times and they did not look like good company. Not to be judgemental, but they all dressed like homeless people, their faded ripped jeans hanging on the edge of their waists and their full hair usually unkept, or with one ridiculous cut or the other. They smoked way too much weed from what I observed and the most confusing part was Hassan acted nothing like them.

Not to toot his horns, but compared to his friends, he dressed like a well kept person, his curly hair was usually kept low and neat and he didn't always indulge in their extracurricular activities; which led me to wonder why he even associated with them in the first place.

I shrugged off the mental question as our eyes briefly met and I fully expected him to keep it moving; I hoped he would. But instead he left his group of friends and in quick strides, began to walk towards me.

I blinked when I realized he was coming here before my face took on a stoic expression which caused his steps to falter as he approached me almost cautiously, his grin dwindling to a ghost of a smile. "Is this seat taken?"

I scowled. "Yes."

He nodded before sitting down on it anyway and I almost scoffed in disbelief at his guts. Is this dude for real?

"Are you being serious right now?" I ask him incredulously and he raises his hands in the air as if in surrender but he still doesn't stand up as he rushes out his words.

"I just wanted to apologize for my behavior at the beach party, okay? It was totally inappropriate and a result of one too many joints of weed that gave me the impression that I could act on my desires and I'm sorry." Hassan managed to say.

I raised my eyebrows at his choice of words. "Your desires?"

A low sigh escaped him, the sound barely audible. "You're beautiful, Christine. And I'm really attracted to you. I guess, in that moment I thought the feeling was mutual and I read that wrong." He said brazenly.

Squinting my eyes, I recalled what happened that day. It was sexual harassment if anything cause I had clearly tried to push him away, not an indication of attraction in my books, or anyone else's for that matter, or was he too high then to notice?

Suddenly, I didn't want to sit here and listen to him talk anymore so I said, "It's fine, Hassan." Realizing my words could easily be misinterpreted, I quickly correct myself. "Of course I'm not saying your actions were fine, but I accept your apology. Also, I have to apologize if I have in the past given you the impression that I have feelings for you."

As I said that, I watched as his jaw clenched and a muscle ticked. Yet he smiled, a forced smile that almost looked natural, however I didn't miss the slight strain in it. The nearly sinister glint in his eyes as he spoke spiked fear in me. As if my admitting that I didn't have feelings for him annoyed him to no length. What the actual fuck?

"I understand. I do hope we can be friends though." He tells me in a tight voice.

Not wanting to give him any false hope, I say, "I don't know. We'll see."

I stood up then. My plate was half empty but after this conversation, my appetite was long gone, so I left him sitting at that table, the feeling of his eyes following me around the room as I disposed of my leftover and until I stepped out of the cafeteria had the hair at the back of my head standing at alert, but I remained outwardly calm.

After leaving there, I made my way to Nedum's hostel. Today was the day Kemi and her course mate, Naima, usually studied and I wanted to be alone right about now. Chinedum's roommate, Tracy, was surprisingly there.

"Oh, hey." I greeted her as I walked in.

She turned to me briefly before going back to what she was doing: packing an overnight bag, it seems. "I'm leaving soon, don't worry."

"It's your room." I said as I went to Nedum's bed and plopped down on it, the soft mattress bouncing slightly underneath my body.

Staring at Tracy's back curiously as she went about her packing, I wondered where she always went. She had most of her clothes here yet I could count on one hand how many times I'd actually seen the girl spending time in this room. Nedum had told me that she was constantly sleeping around but when she wasn't with a man, where did she stay?

Who said there are times she isn't with a man? A voice in my head said.

"Chris, right?" She asked as she turned with her index finger pointed at me. I mentally rolled my eyes because I knew for a fact that she knows my name, yet I nodded anyway. "Remi's new play thing."

My eyebrows flew up at that, my face scrunching up. "Excuse me?"

"You're excused. I've heard so much about you. Words of advise, girl to girl, don't get too comfortable." She leaned in like she was about to reveal a secret to me but I reeled back in disgust.

At this point, I was wondering who the fuck this bitch thinks she is.

But she wasn't done yet. "Soon enough he'll tire of you like he has the rest. And, honey, there has been a lot." She grinned skittishly like she knew something that I didn't, except, I didn't give a damn what she knew or didn't.

I stood up from the bed, deciding that I'd rather be in Kemi and Naima's presence than here. It seemed Tracy was more interested in giving her unwanted advice than packing her clothes and I wasn't about to give her a listening ear.

Pausing at the door, I turned to her. "Next time, if I need some advice I'll ask a more qualified person and not some loose pussy bitch who gains more pleasure in sleeping with every Tom, Dick and Harry than actually minding her fucking business."

She was momentarily stunned, but when she recovered, a fiery look ignited in her eyes however I couldn't care less and without giving her a chance to speak, I walked out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

Hassan Ibrahim

I didn't plan to apologize. The act in itself was never in my nature. Yet I did. For some reason, the thought of Christine being mad at me nagged at my conscience. I couldn't stand it, couldn't allow it.

So when I saw her at the canteen, I left my boys to go talk to her. I sat down with her. I apologized to her for my behavior, inserting words I knew she'd like to hear to sweeten the apology. But what did she do? She practically spat in my fucking face.

My jaw clenched tightly, a seething sound escaping my lips as I thought back to the conversation we had. There I was making an effort to be a good guy, to show concern about her feelings, and yet, she didn't appreciate that. The behavior shouldn't have surprised me seeing as they never do. These ladies, they usually need the guy to be the man. To tell them what to do, to tell them how to behave, to think for them.

If that's the side of me she needs, I'll show her that side.

Initially, I didn't want to go down that lane with Christine. After the misfortune that happened with Anita, my therapist had suggested that I focus on school, on my studies and on myself. As usual, I was blamed for what happened to her. How is it my fault that she couldn't take simple instructions. That she couldn't think for her fucking self and she needed my help to do it.

But I heeded the therapist's suggestion. I told myself I'd stay away from the ladies until I was in the clear. But then I met her. From the moment I met Christine, something in her sparked my attention fiercely. I wanted to know everything that there was to know about her immediately, my heart softening towards another for the first time in two years.

I resisted the urge at first, the warnings of my therapist playing in the back of my head like a horrible song I couldn't rid my mind off. But after some time, and with much effort, I was able to turn it off and focus on what was mine. When Allah gives you a second chance, who are you to reject that? Who are you to allow it pass you by? All you can do then is to grab onto it with both hands and hold on to it.

She was my second chance. My opportunity to do things right. It didn't help that she had an uncanny resemblance to Anita. At first, when I looked at her face, I saw my first true love. But now, I saw Christine. My gorgeous Christine with a beauty that is unmatched by any.

She doesn't know it yet, but she belongs to me. My special person.

I've always prided myself on my predatory level of patience. This time would be any different. She can resist me all she wants but I will have her at the end of the day. How I achieve that, well, that will be up to Christine. She can either think for herself and willingly come to me after realizing that we are meant to be, or I'll think for her and bring her to me. Of course the former would be an easier option for her, lest she turn out like Anita. But only time will tell.

I took my meds and after some minutes I began to feel restless. I paced around my room, maddening thoughts filling my head as my vision began to constrict and my mind felt hazy, several thoughts crossing through a mile a minute.

"Fuck", I cursed to myself loudly as I grabbed my phone and keys from the bed before storming out of the room, slamming the door closed behind me.

I got in my car with no sense of direction. I didn't know where I was going but after a few minutes of aimless driving, I found myself in front of the Adenuga hostel. I couldn't see my woman, didn't even know her room, but I swear I could feel her presence close.

No, Hassan, now is not the time. Soon. That voice in my head assured me and it took a lot of willpower for me to finally begin to drive past, the steering wheel held tightly in my hands. So tight that I could feel my knuckles begin to turn pale.

This time, I drove with intent and I soon found myself in front of the Collins Hostel. I made my way inside the three storey building and on my way, I passed by a girl whose doe eyes followed me.

Her face was familiar, probably from parties, although she really didn't look like someone who even got invited to parties with the thick glasses perched on her nose and the unflattering clothes she had on.

Ignoring her following stare, I reminded myself that I wasn't here for her. I got upstairs to Gina's room in record time, skipping steps in a hurry. I knew that she would just be returning from a class as over the course of months since we had began fucking, we often had to keep up with each other's schedules so we could get together on days convenient for both parties.

I found her laying on her bed in just her underwear when I walked in. If I didn't know that Gina liked to lounge around half naked, I'd have thought that she knew I was coming.

"Hassan!" She bit out after turning to the door sharply. "Don't you know how to knock?"

"Since when did you start giving a fuck about manners, Gina?" I asked and she rolled her eyes as she leaned back on her hands, giving me a beautiful view of her ample chest.

"Can I help you?" Regina retorts.

"Yes, as a matter of fact." I replied as I started unbuckling my belt, her eyes following my movements. "And you can start by getting on your knees. I find that I have quite a lot of tension to relieve myself of."

The devious smirk that came across her lips reminded me of why we started this secret affair in the first place.

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So, Hassan and Regina are sleeping together...hmm.

What do you guys think about this chapter?

As you must know by now, Hassan has a mental problem and now he seems to think that Christine belongs to him. How do you think that'll play out in the future?

Keep reading to find out. And please guys, don't forget to vote and don't hesitate to flood me with your comments. This just motivates me to write and update faster cause I know then that y'all are actually enjoying and supporting this book, okay?

Until next time, stay safe!