Chapter Thirty One

MICHAEL

I can feel her eyes on me after I have said those words but I don't turn to look at her.

I already know what she must be thinking right now, about how she had no idea that I had gone through stuff like that but I don't want her sympathy or pity. I've never wanted it from anyone. That's why people don't know a lot about me, even my friends and I would rather keep it that way.

But what had prompt me to tell her that bit of information about me?

"I'm so, so sorry. I had no idea." She says, her voice laced with guilt.

I almost chuckle at her response. She shouldn't be sorry. Everything that had happened was my fault and not hers. And no matter how much I might have been punished for it by my dad, it can never take away the weight of what I had done.

I was the one who wanted a younger sibling.

"It's okay. It happened a very long time ago." I reply with a small smile. She's still watching me and I really want to know what she is thinking. I don't ask though and she doesn't say anything anymore so we continue to walk in silence.

I decide to break the silence.

"Tell me one thing about you that I don't know." I ask of her. It's only fair that she tells me a secret of hers after I just told her mine. Well, maybe it isn't because she didn't ask me to tell her and I just did. But I just really need to change the topic.

I glance at her and see her think about what she wants to say. She doesn't have to think hard though, I will gladly listen to anything she says.

"I can do taekwondo."

Oh.

I wasn't really expecting that but that's really surprising. Or maybe not so much.

"I don't know if you can remember because it happened back in JSS2 but I got bullied a lot back then. I didn't even know I was being bullied then, I just couldn't understand why everyone was acting that way towards me. One day, someone had stuck a leg out on my way passing and I had fallen down, injuring my arm. I remember being very sad about that and Nanny had noticed it as soon as I got home. When she asked about what happened and I told her, she decided then and there that I should learn some sort of defence to kick the butts of people who trouble me and so I learnt taekwondo." She explains.

I know I have a wide smile on my face but I can't help being impressed as I learn how she had finally managed gotten Dorcas and her friends to leave her alone.

"I had no idea. No wonder, you are so fierce." I tease with a smile and she rolls her eyes. "I guess I should never try to mess with you."

"Yeah, or you get a high kick." She replies without hesitation and I chuckle.

I will really love to see her fight someone with her skills. I can totally imagine her looking so badass and it only fuels whatever it is that is making my heart all weird.

"I know what I just told you doesn't compare to what you told me but I want you to know that I'm really sorry for your loss." She says with a small smile and squeezes my hand.

I ignore the tingling feeling that works its way through my body as the softness of her palm presses against mine. I shouldn't be thinking about that right now.

"It's okay. You had a pretty rough childhood too." I reply, squeezing hers in return.

She removes her hand from mine and we continue to walk in silence.

My mind chooses that period to wander back to all the events that had happened today and I can't believe I had tried to kiss her twice.

Twice.

I'm not one to give into physical attraction without having control of what I want to do myself. I'm someone who acts after thinking clearly and deliberately about what I want to do. But with this girl, all that seems to be the exact opposite.

I had wanted nothing more at both moments than to press my lips against hers and I would have since she didn't even try to stop me both times. Thank God I caught myself in time before doing that, because kissing her might make everything awkward and that's the last thing I want.

And when she had asked me about what had happened two years ago, I was so shocked, my mind went blank.

She clearly hasn't remembered everything that happened because she wouldn't have had to ask that question if she had. But the fact that she asked that question in the first place must also mean that she remembers part of it.

So why didn't I answer the question when she had asked me?

I could have told her everything then. Explained what really happened and make her realise that John is a liar and I was the one who had saved her that night, not him.

She might even end up feeling so grateful towards me that she might start developing feelings for me. And everything that I had set to achieve would have come to pass.

So why didn't I tell her anything? What was I so afraid of?

I don't realise that we have gotten to the shortcut until Cynthia takes a step back and looks uncertainly at the passage in front of us.

"Where is this?" She asks warily.

"The shortcut."

She looks around skeptically, taking in the plenty uncompleted buildings that surrounds the road. I'm sure she is thinking that lots of people with hidden agendas, mostly criminals, can hang out here and I don't blame her because I had those exact thoughts too yesterday.

When I had discovered the shortcut yesterday while I was coming back from the hospital, the only reason I was bold enough to actually pass through it was because I knew Kunle was somewhere behind me, watching me.

He and the other bodyguards might even be following me right now. If they are, they are doing a good job of making it unnoticeable.

"There's no way I'm going through this passage." She shakes her head.

"The other choice we have is to pass the long way and it would take us about fifteen minutes. So let's just go." I try to convince her and without waiting for her reply, grab her hand and start to make our way down the path. It is a bit long so we walk for few minutes. I can't help smiling whenever she holds my hand tightly at any suspicious sound she hears.

I really like the feeling of her hand in mine and I don't want to let it go but that's what I do when we finally walk out of the passage and into a busy street.

"Where do we go next?" She asks, looking around again.

"You don't have to worry about that." I respond and she raises an eyebrow. I want her to be surprised when we get there but if she sees us heading to the same hospital she brought Frank in, she will easily guess who we are visiting.

"From this point forward, you have to be blindfolded."

She looks a bit confused.

And cute too.

I smile before quickly reminding myself to focus. "Like I said earlier, where we are going and who we are going to see is a secret. You can't know until we are actually in front of the person." I add and then remove my tie from my pocket.

"May I?" I ask as I raise the tie.

"I'm not really sure about this."

"Do you trust me?"

"I'm not really sure about that."

I chuckle at her response before going to stand right behind her. Her familiar scent of vanilla draws me in and I almost bring my nose down to her neck to nuzzle it.

Michael, get a grip on yourself.

I clear my throat at the reminder from my subconscious and begin to blindfold her. "You'll just have to trust me." I tell her and hold her hand again.

I know I'm holding her hand because she literally can't see anything and I have to act as her guide but honestly, I can get used to holding her hand.

I squeeze it gently before I can stop myself and ask her, "Are you ready?"

She shakes her head, making me grin.

"Don't worry, we are just walking a little. We'll get there after walking past just three buildings." I try to calm her down and she nods.

"Let's go."

We start to walk and she follows me. She subconsciously grips my hand tighter and I glance at where our hands are intertwined.

What's wrong with me? Why am I being all sappy?

We don't walk long before we get to the hospital and from the strong smell of disinfectant, I know she can guess that too.

I lead us towards the stairs and down the floor until we are in front of Frank's room.

"We are here." I announce gently, reluctantly leaving her hand.

"Can I remove the blindfold now?" She asks, her voice a little impatient.

"Not yet." I reply, smiling when I hear her groan.

I decide to satisfy her curiousity and open the door after a quick knock. Frank is seated on his hospital bed as usual but without his mum which is very unlikely. I don't get to ask him where she went though as his face which looks far better than the first time I saw him grows animated with excitement as we both enter into the room.

"You brought her!" He squeals with delight and I nod, feeling very happy with myself.

He looks even more happy than when I have gotten him the PS5.

Cynthia has already removed her blindfold and she's staring down at him with bewilderment.

Yeah, the element of surprise totally worked.

Great job, Michael. I pat myself on the back mentally.

"Frank!" She shouts, the shocked look still in her eyes.

"You're Cynthia, right? You were the one who brought me to the hospital." He asks as if trying to confirm and she nods.

"You never came to visit me. I had to ask Michael to bring you so I'd at least meet the person that saved my life." He says and she glances at me, an uncertain look on her face.

"What?" I whisper to her.

"You've been visiting him?" She asks and I nod. A flash of emotion passes through her eyes but it's gone before I can decipher what it is.

"He said you are very pretty. He wasn't lying." Frank announces and I immediately turn to look at him.

I don't remember our conversation being like that.

"Why did you say that?" I ask him, almost groaning. I wonder what's going through her head right now.

"Because it was what you said." Frank replies with a shrug.

I glance at Cynthia to see her reaction to his words but she seems to be in thought and not paying attention to us.

Oh, well then.

CYNTHIA

I don't know what's more surprising.

The fact that I'm here in the hospital I had brought Frank to less than a week ago or the fact that he is cozying up to the person who had put him in that situation.

I mean who would have thought Michael and the boy he had almost beaten to a pulp would be interacting this way?

He goes to sit beside Frank on his hospital bed and gives him the ice-cream.

"She bought it for you." He mentions as he gives it to him and Frank gives him a doubtful look.

"How does she know to buy it? She didn't even know where you were bringing her." Frank replies.

"You're not wrong. I asked her to buy it." He agrees with a smile and Frank gives him a look that says 'see?'

"Are you allowed to take something as cold as that?" I ask and they both glance at me.

"He'll be getting discharged in two days from now, I bet he can take anything he wants." Michael replies as Frank opens the ice-cream and begins to lick it. I stare at Michael incredulously and wonder how he knows so much about him.

I can't help my curiosity anymore so I ask, "How do you guys get so close? I don't mean to sound rude but Frank, you do realize that Michael was the one who beat you to a pulp." I remind the both of them and Frank blinks up at me. Michael narrows his eyes at me but I ignore it.

"I know he is the one that hit me to the extent of having to get admitted but he came and apologized. He even bought me the new PS5 and there was no way I could stay angry at him after that so I forgave him. And he visited me yesterday too." He explains.

I stare at him wide-eye, the information a bit too much to take in. I glance at Michael who smirks at me.

"But how about your mum and dad? They also allow him visit you?" I ask and he licks a huge scoop of ice-cream before he replies.

"My mum forgave him already when she realized that he's a good boy. My dad, on the other hand, is hard to deal with. He still thinks Michael cheated his way out of the law and he didn't get justice for me." Frank utters and Michael pouts.

"I once tried to tell him that the point of punishing criminals is so they can feel remorseful about the crime they've committed and to not want to commit it again. I also told him that I already feel bad about what happened and there is no way I'll want to beat someone up again." Michael adds.

"Did his views of you changed then?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"I don't think so."

I say nothing and watch the two of them. Frank is feeding Michael some ice-cream and Michael is licking it slowly on purpose to annoy Frank.

I smile as Frank begins to chase Michael around the room because Michael has now refused to return his spoon.

I remember the day Michael had hit him and how annoyed it made me that he had beaten him for no reason. I remember telling him with hatred that I despised him but it seems so long ago. Looking at him now, I realize I don't despise him anymore.

In fact, I may be a long way from despising him.

The door of the hospital room opens and Frank's mother enters. Frank and Michael immediately stop chasing each other but it is clear Frank's mother had seen them because she gives them a hard glare.

"Michael, I consider you to be more responsible than that. He will be discharged soon but it doesn't mean all his wounds should open up because over-excitement." She scolds.

Michael exchange looks with Frank and tries to seem apologetic while hiding a smile. I shake my head and smile at the two of them while Frank runs to give his mother a hug.

"Mum, guess who is here." He says and his mother looks around until she sees me.

"Cynthia!" She calls out and walks towards me then engulfs me in a hug.

I hug her back with a smile and she releases me. "I've been expecting you a lot sooner and I would have been disappointed if Frank had gotten discharged and you didn't come." She frowns a little and I try not to look too guilty.

"I'm sorry for coming late." I apologize and she smiles.

"It's fine. I'm glad you are here." She waves it off and I smile back at her.

"Let's play a game." Frank suddenly says from beside me and before I can decline, he is already pulling me towards one of the chairs and Michael is setting up a Ludo game.

"I don't know how to play it." I confess and Michael smiles.

"I'll teach you. It's not difficult."

"Fine, but does it not require four players?"

"Three players can play but it won't be as fun as if there's a forth person. Mum, join us and be the fourth player." Frank says to his mum who is busy cutting some fruits into a plate.

"No, I don't think I should join you guys in playing." She responds and Frank is already by her side, ready to convince her. He stands on his toe to whisper in his mum's ear and she chuckles.

"Alright, I'll join you guys once I'm done with this." She gives in and Frank smiles triumphantly. He rushes back to us and helps Michael in tutoring me on how to play the game.

It turns out to be quite simple and soon I'm eager to play so I can be the last girl standing.

Frank's mum joins us with the plate of fruits and there were soon shouts of victories, groans of losing, an empty plate and the joy from playing the game.

After playing two rounds and winning none, courtesy of Michael and Frank, I whisper to Michael and tell him it is time to go. He agrees and looks fondly at Frank who is still trying to get his mum to play another round.

"We have to start going." Michael announces and the both of them turn to look at him.

"Already?" Frank's mum asks and I nod.

"We still have to go back to the school." I explain and she glances at the two of us like she just realised something.

"Don't tell me the both of you skipped school to visit Frank." She demands disapprovingly and looks from one of us to the other. She then assesses our clothes as if she just noticed that we are both in our uniforms.

"We no longer have any lessons for today. They are all just practicing sports." Michael quickly explains while I avoid looking at her.

"Is that true, Cynthia?" She asks me.

"Yes, it's true. I would never have gone out of the school otherwise." I assure her and she sighs with relief.

"That's fine then, let me drop you both at school." She offers and starts to get up but Michael stops her.

"It's alright ma. We know a shortcut, you should stay here with Frank and look after him." He assures and she glances at me.

Is he freaking kidding me? He wants us to go through that scary shortcut again?

"Are you sure?" She asks, turning me and I nod with a tight smile. I glare at Michael but he pretends not to see me.

Maybe I shouldn't have agreed with him and accept her ride instead.

He turns to Frank and gives him a fist-bump, "I'll make sure to visit you before you get discharged, okay?"

"Will Cynthia come too?" He asks.

"No, she has to participate in the final try-outs." Michael replies and Frank looks at me.

"It's okay. We'll still see plenty of each other and I guess I also owe you lots of gifts." I say and he smiles.

"It's settled then." He nods happily and I chuckle.

"Take care of yourselves." Frank's mum says as we start to head out.

"Yes ma'am. Bye." I wave at them with a smile.

"Bye." Frank calls out as we close the door.

"So, how was that? Do you love me now that I took you to see the person you should have gone to see a long time ago?" Michael asks with a proud smile as we climb down the stairs and I give him a dry look.

"Why did you refuse Frank's mum's offer to take us back to school?" I ask with a glare and he chuckles. Then he cups my face and squeezes my cheek, making my mouth form into a pout.

"You are so cute." He says with a smile and I can't say anything because he is still busy squeezing my mouth so I glare at him.

His smile fades slowly and he stares at me intently, his eyes lingering on my lips that is still pouting thanks to him. I stop glaring and my gaze softens as I wonder what is going on in his mind, hoping that he can't hear just how fast my heart is beating.

Am I perhaps not the only one who is attracted to him? Is what I'm starting to feel for him mutual?

He drops his hands from my face and clears his throat, "Let's go." He says and practically runs down the stairs.

I stare down at him with confusion and mild annoyance.

What the- What's wrong with him?

I follow him out of the hospital with a frown and we walk together in silence but as we approach his stupid shortcut, I can't help talking.

"Why are we going through this passage again?"

"Because it's a shortcut. We spent almost an hour at the hospital. This is past two now, school closes by three and I don't think the class captain took our attendance before break so she's going to have to take it after school closes and we have to be there or she will mark us absent. Something I know you won't like."

"If you had allowed Frank's mum to give us a ride, there won't be any need to take any shortcuts and I won't be worried about getting marked absent."

"I'm sure the gratitude you are feeling towards me for taking you to Frank when it never crossed your mind weighs more than the hatred you are feeling towards me for wanting to spend more time with you."

I blink in surprise at his words.

Did he really just say that he wants to spend more time with me? Is that supposed to mean something? Am I overthinking things?

"I guess I'm right, then." He says, taking my silence as agreement. "We should keep going because I don't want to be responsible for your 'absence' in school." He adds, making an airy quote around absence, and even though I'm still surprised with what he just said, I roll my eyes.

He grabs my hand and I open my mouth to protest but he speaks before I do, "I'm not holding your hand because of you but because of me. This place can be scary and I need some reassurance."

I give him a dry look but say nothing and hand in hand, we begin to make our way through the passage.

I can easily remove my hand from his but I like the feel of my hand in his a bit too much.

We've only walked about half of the way when we begin to hear muffled voices. It sounds like a male and female having an argument and nervously, I glance at Michael but he is staring at the floor.

Suddenly, he leaves my hand and bends down to pick a small piece of paper.

He looks alarmingly at the paper then raises his head to look at me, "This was the card I gave to Tayo."

I glance down at the paper and begin to feel worried, "Are you sure?"

He turns the card to the other side and it's all the confirmation we need that it's indeed the card he had given to her.

"I think she's in trouble." He mutters as he looks down at the number he had written down himself on the card.

"There's only one way to find out." I reply and before I can talk myself out of it, start to walk as quietly as I can towards the voices.

The voices lead us to one of the uncompleted buildings that surrounds the narrow passage. I peep through one of the windows and see Tayo struggling with a boy that is probably my age or Michael's. He is with four other boys and they just stand there, watching the scenario.

"That must be her step-brother." Michael whispers beside me.

"And his friends." I complete quietly and he nods.

"What do you think he is trying to collect from her?"

"Probably the money that I gave to her."

"She said her mother needed that money to buy drugs." I add worriedly.

"He probably doesn't care." Michael replies and I give all the boys a look of disgust even though they can't see me.

It looks like we are both in a spy movie and my heart is pumping with so much adrenaline.

"What do we do now?"

"Just let go of the money already!" The step-brother shouts and pushes Tayo. She falls on the ground and tries hard to not burst into tears. From the corner of my eye, I see Michael's hands curl into fists.

"You know, not long ago, I was thinking how it's a shame that I've never seen you do taekwondo." He says furiously.

I look at him incredulously, "What has that got to do with why we are here?"

"We are teaching them a lesson and that's what it has to do with it."

I give him an unsure look, "Shouldn't we just call the police?"

"I won't be satisfied with just that." He replies and looks back into the building.

"Is these all the money he gave you?" The brother asks, pulling her from the floor with her clothes.

"Yes." She responds and finally starts to cry.

"He gave you his number, right?" He asks and she nods helplessly, still crying.

"Where is it? We could use it to demand for more money." It is one of the other boys who speaks and the brother smiles.

"You think like me." He says to the boy and turns to Tayo, "Where is it?" He asks again and she starts to tremble.

"I don't know." She replies and her brother slaps her. I gasp and turn to Michael.

"What are we waiting for?" I whisper with annoyance.

"What's his name?" The brother asks again. Tayo is trembling badly and I know it's because she doesn't know Michael's name.

He raises his hand to slap her again and I know I can't wait any longer, I go into the building.

"Leave her alone." I demand as firmly as I can and they all turn to look at me. The step-brother releases Tayo's clothes and she runs towards me.

"Run out of this passage and go to the main road without looking back. Wait till I get there, are you clear?" Michael warns her and without answering, she looks with fear from Michael to her brother.

"Now!" I shout and she flinches but runs off.

"Who are you?" The brother asks.

"I am the one who gave her the money and this card." Michael responds and removes the same card from his pocket to show them. The stepbrother exchange looks with his friends and they all smile.

"It's nice of you to show up by yourself without having to invite you. How much is on you?" He asks, the sly smile still on his face.

"Twenty thousand naira." Michael replies without blinking and I turn to look at him.

He has that much on him? Or is he just saying that.

As soon as he says that, the boys' eyes gleam with greed. The brother smirks, "So you had that much with you and gave my sister just five thousand? That was low of you but it doesn't matter, you can atone for that by giving me the rest of the money."

"What if I don't want to?" Michael asks casually and the smile on the boy's face disappears and his face hardens.

"Then we will do it the hard way." He replies.

I scoff, "Bring it on." I tell him angrily, knowing very well how much of a pleasure it will be to kick the asses of such disgusting people.

The boy and his friends turn to me.

"Is this your girlfriend?" He asks and continues without waiting for a reply. "She looks really pretty, not to talk of how smooth her body looks." He grins, checking me out openly and then starts to walk towards me. Michael tries to come in between us but I stop him by nudging him back.

"What do you say guys? Let's have fun with her after dealing with her boyfriend." He says and carresses my head down to my cheek.

It's surprising how it made my stomach flutter when Michael did it and how it makes my stomach churn with disgust when the slime-ball in front of me did it.

"Who knows, we might even let her boyfriend be our audience." He continues with a chuckle and trails a finger down my neck.

I've had enough.

With as much strength as I can muster, I give him a hard kick in his balls and smile satisfactorily as he goes down with a loud cry, grabbing his junk as he does.

I glance at Michael and he gives me a smile of approval, I smile in return and turn to the others.

They watch as their leader go down with surprise but it isn't for long, one of them is the first to blink to reality and he charges towards me, his hands clenched into fists. He throws a punch that I easily block with my arm and quickly throw him a punch in his stomach. He loses his footing and stumbles and before he can regain his balance, I give him a hard kick in his knees and he falls flat on the ground, whimpering in pain as he grabs the knee I just kicked.

The rest of them charge towards me ignoring Michael but Michael won't allow it. He starts to fight them off for me and I assist him. I throw kicks and punches and Michael does the same and soon, we are smiling satisfactorily at their groaning bodies on the floor.

"That was totally badass." Michael grins and I start to wink in response but I catch some movements behind him. Somehow, Tayo's step brother has gotten up from the floor and has found a broken bottle, he is charging towards Michael with it.

"Michael, look out!" I shout and he turns around. Tayo's step brother raises his hand to stab Michael just then but he is unable to do so as his hand gets suspended in air.

I breathe out a sigh of relief and look at the man that is holding his hand. He is wearing a black T-shirt and jeans and his face is set in a tight line. I'm still wondering who he might be when two men dressed like him enters.

Michael doesn't look too happy about the development and glares at the man who now has both hands of Tayo's brother behind his back.

"How did you guys find me?"

"Who are they?" I whisper to Michael.

"My bodyguards." He whispers back and turns to them.

"We were trailing behind you as soon as you left the school with your friend but we lost you when we got to this turning. We split up to find you but I never knew you could have taken this passage so I didn't bother checking but I stood outside just in case. I saw this young girl crying as she comes out of the passage and I remember seeing you talk to her so I decided to ask her what was wrong. She told me then that her brother and his friends are going to beat the people that helped her."

"That was how I came looking through this passage and found you almost getting stabbed by this boy." The bodyguard explains in a grim voice and Michael rolls his eyes.

"Don't just tell Henry about this." He says and the bodyguard nods.

"What should we do with these guys?" One of the other two bodyguards that came in asks. The two of them were holding the rest of the boys by their clothes. I want to point out that they can easily get away but I realize that their hands have already been tied with a rope so I keep quiet.

"Take them to the police-station." Michael replies and I can swear I hear one of the boys begin to cry. "Where's the girl?"

"She's with Kunle. He sent us here." The bodyguard replies. Kunle must also be one of them.

Michael holds my hand and together we walk out of the uncompleted building. The bodyguards follow behind and I try to remove my hand from Michael's but he won't let go.

"We are no longer alone. You can leave my hand." I tell him and he smiles.

"I still need reassurance." He replies without looking at me and I fall silent as I don't know what to say. I glance at him and see that he is still smiling.

I hide a smile of my own as we continue to walk.

We get to the open road and Tayo immediately runs to us. She shrinks back as she sees her step-brother and I bend down to give her a hug.

"It's okay now. You won't be seeing your brother for a while." I assure her as I hug her and she sobs into my shoulder.

"Let's take you home." Michael says to her and turns to the bodyguard that holds Tayo's brother. "Where are the cars?"

"They are there." He points to two cars.

"Take those scoundrels to the police station. Kunle, you will be accompanying Cynthia, Tayo and I to Tayo's house." Michael orders and they nod. I watch admiringly as he takes charge and I have to admit that being a Senator's son suits him.

"Am I going with you to Tayo's house?" I ask Michael, following him with Tayo as he heads to one of the cars.

"Of course. Didn't you hear me mention your name?"

"Have you forgotten about the school attendance? It's almost closing hours."

"It won't take long. We are going by car." He glances at his watch. "We still have thirty minutes."

"Do you even know where you are going?"

He doesn't reply and instead turns to Tayo, "Can you describe the way to your house?" He asks and she nods in response.

"Is the place far?" He asks again.

"No, it isn't." She replies and he turns to me.

"There you have it." He smiles triumphantly and without waiting for my confirmation, opens the car door and pushes me inside. He then follows with Tayo.

Kunle enters into the driver's seat and asks Michael, "Should I start driving?"

"Yes. Listen carefully to what Tayo says, she will be telling us where to go."

Kunle looks unsure as Michael says this but doesn't argue. He then begins to drive while Michael asks Tayo for direction.

***

I think this is the second longest chapter after the prologue, almost six thousand words. I do hope you enjoyed it though because I really liked going through the chapter again.

It is one of my favourite scenes in the story, followed closely by when they all went to visit them with gifts. And the fact that both scenarios weren't planned makes me love it more.

What do you all think of Michael's reaction towards Cynthia since the previous chapter? I want to hear your thoughts.

Don't forget to share, vote and comment. I really appreciate your votes so please just take a second in hitting the star button at the bottom of the screen, it means a whole lot.

Until next time.

Kisses 😘😘.