Later in the evening, after I returned from seeing my father in prison, I rode to Apapa West to see Ren's father and deliver the land title documents my father had given me.

When I reached there, I get off my bike and see that the sky is already beginning to cloud over, which suggested that it might begin to rain soon.

I decide to get this done quickly so that I wouldn't be caught in the rain here. At the same time, I'm hoping and longing to see Ren.

As I'm walking in, I get a call from Scott, which I immediately answer.

"What's up, dude?" I say.

"I'm good," He responds. "BUS 423 results are out," He adds, and I am taken aback. That was the first paper we wrote.

 "How was it?" I inquired, knowing that he would have checked mine.

"I'm sorry, bro, you failed it,"

"Gosh!" I mutter an exasperated phrase. "I will talk to you later," I hastily add and hang up. I tilt my head back, thinking about taking an extra year to graduate.

Since nobody will be forcing me to take another course, I still have options. I reflect to cheer myself up.

It's either I enroll for an extra year or I choose to pursue the career I have always desired.

However, I'm not making a decision just yet, I still have plenty of time to think about it while I must concentrate on why I'm here.

Mr. Ademola responds to my knock on their iron front door. He opens the door and welcomes me into their living room, which has not changed since my previous visit.

I take another glance at the picture frames that were hung on the walls. The old photograph of Ren's father, which I recognized before learning that my father had cruelly treated him, is still affixed to the wall. That makes me scoff.

When I questioned him about Ren, he replied that both she and her cousin Angela had gone to assist their grandmother in her store.

I nod okay, already losing hope that I won't meet Ren today.

I handed him those documents after telling him the real reason I had come here without any hesitation. Before signing them, he spent a few minutes going over them.

"Thank you," He says, and I nod alright.

"I'm sorry for what my dad did to you." I plead, "I know how this cost you and your family, I apologize," I add in the hopes that he can find it in his heart to forgive my father.

He loudly scoffs at my comments.

"Did you know that your sister Olivia contacted me via Karen?" When he responds, my eyebrows rise in shock and confusion as I wait impatiently to hear what he will say next.

I'm speechless as he continues,

"She asked me to report to the police for justice, but I refused."

I wasn't expecting my sister to do that. Kudos to her, because I'd known my father's secret all this while and couldn't do anything about it.

I'm also curious why Mr. Ademola would refuse such.

"Why did you decline to report when that would have been nice?" I question.

 "Because I feel like his biggest punishment is who he is now, I didn't even know the court was going to find him guilty of drug trafficking," He adds. I sigh heavily and look at the floor because I feel ashamed of my dad.

"My point is," He continues. "You are nothing like your father. You should be aware of that." I turn my head to look at him when he says this, and we make eye contact.

In response, I give a positive nod.

Everyone keeps saying that, but I'm still not convinced.

 "I better get going before it starts to rain," I say.

"You don't want to see Karen?" He brings it up, and I smile a little.

"She doesn't want to see me," I reply.

"Sure, that. She is furious and upset about everything." I nod in accord as he says. "I wish what happened between me and your father didn't matter in your relationship with her," 

"I wish also," I admit.

"So why not stop by Grandma's shop and try to talk to her there?" He makes a suggestion, and I sigh as I consider my options.

Ren won't want to see me, as evidenced by his comment that she is still upset. Why should I continue to bother her after hurting her and betraying her trust?

"I should give her some more space," I state as I stand up, hoping that one day Ren would get over it and it won't matter to her anymore, and probably we can pick up where we left off.

"If you say so then," He replies and he also gets to his feet.

He then leads me to the door and as I gaze over the entire building, I suddenly remember the rose seeds Ren and I planted in the garden a few months ago. I'm curious to see if the seeds sprout into flowers.

"Can I look around the garden? The first time I came here, we sowed some seed," I inquire.

"Sure, feel free to check them out," He responds and I smile.

He continues, pointing in the direction of the small gate beside us. "Just enter through there."

"Thanks," I say and move toward the house's side. I can see a lightning flash in the sky, indicating that it's about to rain, but I'm not concerned at all because all I want to see is whether the seeds germinate.

I enter the garden after opening the little gate. With multiple plants, it is always attractive. I proceed down the lawn path in the direction of the seeds that we planted.

Oh, yeah.

I see the soil-occupying stems of growing crimson roses.

"Wow!" My face breaks into a radiant smile as my lips gape open in shock.

The appearance is extremely lovely.

I stoop over to catch a whiff of it. I start to sniff, taking in the pleasant, sweet, and floral scent.

"What are you doing here?"

I'm astonished when I hear Ren's charming voice from behind me. I believed she was in her grandmother's shop.

As I come to my feet, I turn to see her in her jean jumpsuit, her adorable face frowning at me as her arms are crossed across her chest and her knotless hair pulled back into a high ponytail.

Gosh! I've missed her so much.

I stutter a bit when I respond to her query.

"I came to give your father some land title documents..."

As I'm speaking, she interrupts. At this moment, we are getting pelted by the tiny raindrops every few seconds as they fall out of the sky.

"Oh! Thinking that will solve everything and make him forget what happened?" She sputters.

"That is not what I meant," I retort fiercely. I can't believe she's putting words in my mouth. Well, screw it. Perhaps she is right. I admit to having the mindset to modify my way of thinking.

"You're right," I reply. "When I found out about my father's wrongdoing, all I wanted to do was get him to give your dad the money back. Justice and how my dad will be held accountable for what he did were the last things on my mind. You are right. I had assumed that giving the money back would help us forget about what he did. I am so selfish to think that way, which shows I'm just like my father. I'm deeply sorry," I apologize as I let out those words from the depth of my heart with tears welling up in my eyes.

"You are not your father and you will never be like him." She shrugs. "I'm just pissed at you because you chose to keep it from me when I should have known, despite my emotion,"

"I'm sorry I was afraid of losing you," I say as it begins to rain lightly.

"We need to get out of here," She retorts, and I accompany her to their back porch in the dripping rain. We hunker down on the pavement next to one another to watch the rain.

I look at her, wondering if she has forgiven me, as we both remain silent.

When she caresses my bandaged hand, she eventually breaks the awkward silence, asking, "Was it when you passed out that you got your hand injured?"

I had no idea she was aware of the news.

"Yes," I respond. "And the funniest part was that when I was unconscious, I dreamed about you riding a motorboat and saving me," I continue, and she looks surprised.

I look at her lips and want to bend forward and kiss her, but I dare not.

"I don't even know how to ride it in real life." She replies, revealing her gorgeous dimple as she smiles. That is something I also missed seeing.

 "That's a good sign for you to learn to ride it," I tell her.

"Maybe I should." She agreed, and we both laugh.

 "How do you know I was here?" I enquire.

"Well, when I got home to drop off some things for my dad, I noticed some documents on the table. He told me you came by and were at the garden, so I had to rush here." She explained and I nod, smiling while she continues. "I was so more upset when you told me you hid it from me because of my studies," 

"I know myself that I made a silly excuse," I admit.

"Of course, because knowing and spending time with you, this has been my best semester so far." She responds and this melts my heart.

"Even though some of the grades I have seen might cause my CGPA to drop,"

"This is my best semester ever as well." I also admit "However, I will want you to rebound in the next session, which is your final year,"

 "Of course," She responds and I can't help but stare at her as she observes the downpour.

Now that things are going well in our chat, it's clear that she has forgiven me. Still, I don't know if she merely wants us to remain friends, while I desire more.

"So I would like to know where I stand with you?" When I manage to request that, she looks into my eyes which meets my gaze as I can't take my eyes off her.

"Well, something serious this time," She states, biting her lips and I grasp in shock. Did she just mention we can be in a serious relationship?

 "Wow!" I exclaim with joy streaming down my face and out of my heart.

She could only smile in response to my reaction.

I get up and jump outside into the rain, as glad as I am to do so.

 "What are you doing?" She seems confused as she asks while standing up as well.

"I will be right back," I say, rushing to the rose plants. I cut a rose when I get there, which is already wet, and then I turn around to see Ren coming toward me.

As we get close to each other, I say.

"When we planted the seeds that day, I told you I might be the first person to give you this, and you replied to me..." As I'm speaking, she interrupts.

"I replied that you must be dreaming," She says, finishing my lines. I find it incredible that she still remembers.

"And the dream comes true," I say, and she smiles brightly.

"I want to use this to express how I feel and my love for you," I add frankly and she takes the rose from me.

"That's so sweet," She answers, wrapping her arms around my neck.

Locking eyes with her despite the drizzle, she tiptoes to kiss me on the lips, and I kiss her passionately in return.

At this moment, I couldn't think about anything else but my new flame and me.

THE END.