Picture of Femi above 😌😍💓

So someone brought it to my notice that I mentioned in the book that they were in their last term as SS3 students but there has not been any talks of their final exams and graduation.

That was a mistake on my path because I meant the last session not last term. I made mention of it when they were having practicals in the chemistry lab, don't know if you guys can remember. They just got promoted to SS3 and it's actually the first term so the talk for exams and graduation will still take a while.

I'm sorry if it had caused confusion for some readers. I'm also aware that they might be some inconsistencies in the story. I am definitely working on correcting them.

I appreciate your patience.

Enjoy the new chapter!

***

Chapter Thirty Six

FEMI

Today is one of the best days of my life.

To be honest, I still feel like this is all a dream and I might wake up soon to discover that it's indeed all a figment of my imagination.

But yet, I'm currently in this car at ten past nine navigating my way to my house and that can only mean that I had really just dropped Grace at Cynthia's place minutes ago.

Although I don't understand why I'm so convinced that what I'm going to have with Grace is any different from my past relationships. I know I like to argue with Wole and deny that all he is saying about girls using me for my popularity and money in school is false, but I still can't help feeling deep within me that there are some truths to his words.

And I really don't know why.

Why can't they just like me because I'm handsome, funny and have a great personality? What is it about me that makes me come off as desperate?

The memories of when I had caught Chika with another guy comes back. She had been making out with him in one of those empty classroom after school was closed. While they had just broken off the kiss and Chika seemed unable to get enough of the boy with her hand all over him, the boy had voiced concerns of someone seeing them and reporting to me.

The damned girl had giggled and told him, 'Don't worry about him. He's like a lovesick puppy wanting attention. I bet he can't live without me.' Then she had continued to kiss him like her life depended on it.

I didn't interrupt them that day but I sure as hell proved to her that I can live without her. Actually, the irony seems to be on her because she's the one who is now acting like a lovesick puppy, following me around like I might change my mind and take her back.

Something that is definitely not happening.

I had ended things with her back then but I could never forget her words.

'A lovesick puppy wanting attention.'

Maybe she is right.

Maybe I want attention. No. Maybe I need someone to love me.

But I just have this gut feelings that I might have just found that person in Grace.

I arrive at our house, more like our mansion, and press the remote that opens the gate and drive in. With a sigh, I switch off the car's engine and step outside, gazing solemnly at the huge building in front of me.

There's something about the house that just washes me with this sense of loneliness. It's probably because as big as the house is, the only people who live in it are Granny and I then the maid who stays off and on in the house.

It gets even more lonely when Granny is at the company and the maid isn't around, leaving only me in the empty walls.

Approaching the front door, I raise my hand to ring the doorbell then notice the bandage that is still wrapped around my hands and fingers. I smile at the memory of Grace treating my wounds and bandaging them before coming to the realisation that I look a mess and Granny is really going to flip out when she sees me.

I love her a lot but she can be a pain to deal with sometimes.

I reluctantly unwrap the bandages on my hand, not wanting to remove what Grace had done for me but consoling myself that we are in a relationship now and there will be lots more of opportunities to do things like this.

I put the bandages in my pocket and raise my hand to ring the doorbell again. After ringing it twice, the door swings open revealing thankfully the maid who has probably decided to sleep over today.

She stares at me for a moment, glancing from my face to my hands then back to my face before finally speaking, "You look like you just finished fighting in a boxing ring."

"Damn." I groan. "It's that obvious?"

"Hun hun." She nods. "And I don't think Grandma is in a good mood. Ever since she received a call not long after you were gone, she has been really irritable."

"Really?" I ask, genuinely surprised by her words. "I wonder who called her."

She shrugs and steps aside for me, "Hopefully, she is too irritated to notice the wounds."

That is highly unlikely but I release a breath as I walk in, "Hopefully."

I walk tentatively towards the sitting room where I can hear voices from the television but my legs pause on its own accordance when I realise what Granny is watching.

Africa Magic.

Granny is watching a Nollywood movie right now.

I glance around the living room to make sure things are where they are supposed to be and to confirm if I had not just entered a parallel universe where Granny still looks like Granny but isn't really Granny.

The thing is Granny considers sources of entertainment a waste of time so her favourite things to watch are the news, business shows and business updates.

Sometimes, I try to convince her to see something else for a change and her response is always, 'When you are old enough to run the company, I might watch something entertaining then.'

I know it hasn't been easy for her.

At the age of 68, she is responsible for the chains of supermarket she owns all over the country. She also owns large farms and industries where lots of food are produced and processed then transported all over the country. She oversees all these all on her own; monitoring accounts, seeking investments and ways to even expand the business further.

Her son, my father, should be the one helping her with all these. He should be the one running the business without the fear of the burden falling on me at an early age weighing me down.

But what had he done?

He got married to my mother in this same house and then got another woman pregnant.

And what had my mother done after finding out?

She left.

Without me.

She cut all ties with all of us and was never heard from again.

My father had despite all these still wanted to shamelessly get married to the mistress he had impregnated but Granny didn't allow it.

She told him to choose between me and my mother and start all over again or to choose his mistress and never contact us again.

He chose his mistress. Without the slightest hesitation.

He left everything for his mistress. The company. His mother. His family.

I was only five.

Granny was left to take care of me by herself but between the business and I, the business took more of her time. I grew up practically alone.

Until now, none of them has ever contacted and I'm still very angry to look for them.

I doubt I ever will.

The loud voices from the television brings me back to the present and I still can't help wondering why Granny is watching a movie.

I clear my throat loudly and she turns to me, finally noticing my presence. "Granny, good evening."

She says nothing and gestures for me to come closer. She then hits me on the back when I have gotten nearer to her.

"What did I tell you about the proper way to greet your elders?" She demands.

I proceed to prostrate on the tiles in the living room, "Good evening, granny."

"That's better." She nods in approval then gives me a skeptical look, "How was your date?"

I go to sit down opposite of her, a big mistake on my path.

Before I can reply, her eyes widen alarmingly. "What happened to you?!"

I stifle a groan. Oh, shit.

"Didn't I warn you not to go on this date?! So what happened? The girl's real boyfriend came with his friends to give you a good beating?!"

"Granny, it wasn't as dramatic as that." I mutter quietly.

"Really? So I'm being dramatic? Look how swollen your cheeks are. Look at your hands." She suddenly stands, bringing out her phone from her purse. "Give me her number right now. I'm going to teach her a lesson for doing this to my grandson."

What the-

I hurry over to her and pull her back to sit, "Granny, she didn't do this to me. I promise. It was a gang of thieves that did this."

She doesn't look convinced, "Why didn't you just allow them steal whatever they want to instead of getting beaten like this? Were you acting like a superhero?"

I let out a frustrated sigh, "It wasn't like that Granny. What matters is that I'm fine." I tell her with a reassuring smile.

"You don't look fine to me." She easily counters and I let out a breathy laughter.

"I'm really fine."

"So what now, are you and the girl together?" She asks.

I was expecting this question but I still don't know how she will react to the truth.

I nod once to her in response and she suddenly looks so exhausted.

She pats my swollen cheek causing me to flinch and she drops her hands, letting out a sigh. "Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"Granny, she is different. She won't break my heart." I assure her.

"That's what you said about that Hannah girl and the one before her but where are they now?" She asks, her voice growing stern. "I thought we agreed that you are going to stop dating and start focusing more on your school works.'

"Granny, we did but I can't help it. She's so beautiful and funny and I like her."

She stares at me intently, narrowing her eyes at me. "If you end up breaking up with her, I don't want to see you date anyone till you are in the University."

"I won't have to because we won't break up." I reply cheekily and she scoffs.

"Hopefully, because if you come back home with swollen eyes and running nose because of a girl, I'm only going to make it worse." She warns and I burst out laughing. I know I turned it into a joke by laughing but Granny is unpredictable and may really go through with her words.

"Have you eaten? Should I ask Kike to bring food for you?"

"No, Granny. I'm full." I respond and then begin to stand up. "I'm going to freshen up now and sleep."

"And apply some ointments to the wounds too." She adds.

"I will." I reply as I approach the stairs.

"Femi!"

I turn around at Granny's voice but she looks like she is having an internal battle with herself.

What's going on?

"Granny, you called me."

"Yeah, come back here." She sighs and pats where I had just stood up from next to her.

I go back to sit with her and give her an expectant look. She doesn't talk for a while.

"Granny." I call her, wondering what's wrong. I don't think I have ever seen her like this, battling for words.

"Is something wrong?" I scoot closer and wrap my hands around her shoulders.

She looks up at me, an anxious look in her eyes.

"I don't know how you are going to take this."

Now, she is scaring me. She better not tell me she got diagnosed with an incurable disease or something.

I still need her. She's the only family I have left.

She can't leave me too.

"Granny, what happened?" I mentally applaud myself for sounding calm.

"Your mother."

Those two words are enough to make me unbalanced, throwing me off. My hands drop from around her shoulders and I stare at her with widened eyes.

"Is she- is she dead?" My voice isn't more than a whisper and I don't even know why I'm scared that a mother that abandoned me might be dead.

Granny shakes her head and smiles sadly, "No. She wants to see you." She announces.

It takes a while for her words to register into my brain and even after that, it still sounds so ridiculous.

"She what?!" I all but shout, annoyance creeping into my voice.

"She wants to see you. She called me sobbing into the phone and saying she has really missed you and would do anything to-

"Granny!" I scream, cutting off her words and standing up. "What are you trying to say? That I should see her?!"

"She just sounded so sorry and I thought it wouldn't be so wrong if you can make up with-

"No! It would be so wrong." I reply, with a shake of my head and my fists clenched beside me in anger. Everything suddenly seems unreal. Myriads of emotions are floating through me and I sure as hell don't want to see that woman.

"She left me, Granny. She left and never looked back. She had a new husband and new children and she forgot- she forgot that I existed." My voice breaks towards the end and it isn't until then that I realise I am beginning to cry.

"And now after almost twelve years, she thinks a phone call will suddenly make it all better?! She didn't even have the decency to come over to talk it out!"

I wipe at my tears angrily, not wanting to shed a tear for the woman that abandoned me but when Granny pulls me into a hug and rubs on my back slowly, I break into fresh tears, crying like a small baby in her arms.

Today was supposed to be one of the best days in my life. Why did she have to ruin it?

"It's okay, dear. You don't have to see her if you don't want to." Granny assures me as she pats my back soothingly.

I break out of her embrace and wipe my tears away, "I don't want to see her, Granny. She can continue to have a good life with her other family."

Granny gives me a look of sympathy. A look that is hardly in her eyes and that I've instantly come to the conclusion that I don't like.

Without saying another word, I hurry out of the sitting room and into my bedroom.

I sit on my bed, staring into space. Thinking about everything and nothing. I don't know how long I stay on the bed like that but I'm brought out of my reverie when my phone begins to ring in my pocket.

Hoping it's Grace, I remove it from my pocket at the speed of light, knowing that talking to her will ease the heaviness in my heart even if it's just for a moment.

I look at the caller and try not to seem too disappointed that it's not Grace but Wole.

"Hey." I say into the phone after picking the call. My voice sounds a little croaky and I had to quickly clear my throat.

"What is wrong?" Wole asks from the other end of the phone.

"What do you mean what is wrong? I'm perfectly alright." I respond, forcing a bit of cheerfulness in my voice.

"You don't sound alright but okay." I roll my eyes at Wole being Wole. Nothing gets past him. "Anyways, have you seen the messages on the school WhatsApp group?"

"No. Why?" I reply, wondering what has happened again.

"I guess it's better if you just check for yourself. How was your date with Grace?" He asks.

"Oh, so now you are curious? I thought you didn't want us to go on the date." I tease him.

"Yeah, but it's not like that stopped you." He replies, clearly still unimpressed.

"I bet you will be happy to know that we are dating now." I announce to him.

"Well, congratulations." He responds, although he does not sound too happy. "But it will help to keep that bit of information to just us right now. I bet Grace has told Cynthia too. Just giving you a head's up."

My face contorts in confusion, "Okay, what's going on? I'm seriously confused right now. Why do I have to keep our relationship a secret?"

"Read the messages on the school's WhatsApp group and you will know. Take care."

And the line is dead.

I immediately put on my mobile data and click on my WhatsApp messenger. There are thousands of messages from our school's WhatsApp group and it is still very active.

What the hell is happening now?

I click on the school group and begin to scroll through the messages. I scroll upon pictures and my heart begins to drop lower and lower the more I scroll down.

Now I understand why Wole called to warn me.

I need to call Grace.

I dial her number and she picks on the second ring.

"Hey, boyfriend." She greets coyly into the phone and I can't help chuckling at her tone and words.

I really hope you don't leave me like the rest, Grace.

Stay with me.

"Is something wrong?" She asks, and I shake my head before realising that she can't see me.

Honestly, the worry in her voice makes me want to tell her everything. About how things are at home and how my mother suddenly wants to see me.

But I don't think revealing so much baggages to your partner on the first day of relationship works well.

"I'm fine, just tired. How about you?"

"I already freshened up and I'm currently gisting with Cynthia." She sounds so excited that a smile appears subconsciously on my face.

I really want to see her right now. And maybe kiss her again.

"Have you seen the pictures and messages on the group?" I ask instead.

She scoffs and I picture her rolling her eyes, "People can be so annoying you know? Don't you think they went too far?"

"I think we will have to keep the fact that we are together a secret for now. I don't want anybody doing anything to you."

"I don't really care, Femi and I'm not scared of them. Don't you think you are holding much value to their words?"

"I know Chika and what she's capable of. If it was another person who made that sentence I would not be so worried."

"Well, don't worry. I can take care of myself just fine." She assures in a light tone. "What are you doing?"

"Lying down." I reply then add, "Missing you."

She giggles at my response before adding quietly, "I miss you too. Can't wait to see you tomorrow."

"Me neither."

There was silence on the phone for a while before she finally speaks.

"What now?"

"We talk tomorrow?" I offer.

"Yeah, I guess." She sighs. "So, goodnight?"

It takes a moment for me to reply, "Goodnight."

And then I hang up.

After making lots of effort to stand up to shower and not quite getting the will to, I finally lift myself up and head into the bathroom.

The shower hits me with warm water and it does a lot to sooth my swollen cheek and my fingers that still stings a little.

My mind keeps reminding me that my mother wants to see me and I keep debating on whether to see her or not.

But then I remember the number of times, I had gone to sleep alone in this house. The number of time I had to cook for myself. The number of times I had wished I would welcome by a mum with a kiss on the head when I'm back from school.

And I decided then and there that there's nothing that can make up for that.

Nothing can make me see her at the moment.

Nothing.

****

CYNTHIA

I go to the bathroom to have a shower and change into my pajamas. If I didn't have to wait for Grace to come back, I'll probably just lay my bed and fall asleep immediately my body touches it.

I sit on the bed and check my alarm clock to see what the time is. I groan when I discover that it's just 8:40pm. I just want it to be 9:00pm already.

I decide to check through my Whatsapp messages to pass time since that is the only social app I have.

I haven't been online for a while so I'm not surprised when I see numerous messages coming from the school's group. There are also some offline messages from John.

I click on John's messages and smile when I read them.

Hey, you haven't been online for a while.
Cynthia, please come online.
When are you coming online? I've missed chatting with you.
Text me when you are online even if I'm not.
I miss you.

I stare at the last two messages, especially the last one and I smile. He talks as if we don't see each other everyday and the last message was texted just three hours ago.

I decide to follow the second to the last text message and text him.

You know you can just call me.

After sending it, I decide to go back offline and maybe play a game but then I notice that the school's group is really active. The messages are increasing rapidly so I click on it.

At first, I see past messages that are of no importance to me and then I start to see pictures.

They are pictures of Grace and Femi tonight and they are in the not-so-urban part of Lagos. The pictures are of them eating at a local canteen and it seems to have provoked lots of girls from our school.

Is that not Femi and that girl in the art department, what's her name, Grace?

What the hell is Femi doing with that girl?

Wait, isn't she the friend of that girl that slapped Michael?

Oh my God! Are they on a date?

The last message seems to be receiving a lot of response as the girls begin denying frantically that it's not possible.

Is she poor? Why will they eat in that kind of place?

Someone recently comments and before I know it, I'm typing a response.

She's definitely not poor and it's their choice if they decide to eat there. What's even wrong with that?

I'm about to press send but hesitate and just decide against it. I will just give them more reason to come for her.

Another picture is sent, and this one is of Grace barefooted, her shoes in her hands while Femi is beside her, both of them laughing.

I look at the pictures with confusion, wondering what is going on but I'm even more worried at the responses the pictures are generating.

Apparently, a girl is threatening Grace of doing something serious to her if she finds out something is going on between her and Femi because he belongs to her.

I read the messages with panic and just wish for Grace to get back already.

My phone vibrates signaling the entry of a call and I want to decline it but then I see that it's John. The least I can do is to answer it and tell him to call later.

"Hi." I say as I receive the call.

"I just saw your message and I feel dumb for not even thinking of it." He replies with a chuckle.

"Yeah, it might have never occurred to you." I answer absentmindedly. "See, the thing is I really can't talk to you right now."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"Yes." I reply and quickly catch myself, not wanting to worry him. "No, nothing is wrong. I just really have something I need to do."

"Okay?" He responds, sounding unsure.

I hear the sound of the gate opening and my impatience increases. I jump down the bed and speak into the phone.

"You know what, let's just talk later." I tell him hurriedly as I run down the stairs.
"Bye!" I add and hang up.

Nanny also comes out of her room probably to make sure Grace is back safe and sound.

There is no sound of a car entering and it leaves me wondering if Grace is really back. However, my doubt is cleared when the doorbell rings.

This time, I beat Nanny to the door and open it to see a really disheveled looking Grace at the entrance. At least, she is now wearing her heels but she certainly looks different from how she was when she left the house three hours ago.

"What happened to you?" I ask as I open the door for her.

Nanny is soon at her side, examining her to see if she is injured.

"It's alright, Nanny. I'm perfectly fine." She tells her but Nanny gives her an unsure look and continues to check her body.

"I'm really fine." She reassures her before Nanny finally leaves her alone.

"Okay, but you really look a mess." Nanny comments then turns to me, "You know what? I take my words back."

My eyebrow raises in confusion and she explains, "If this is how you look like after going on a date, then I'll rather you stayed at home with me."

I fight the urge to roll my eyes while Grace watches with amusement, saying nothing.

"Nanny, I honestly don't think this is how you look after a date but I'll also rather I stayed home with you." I reply and Grace chuckles.

Nanny scoffs, "Anyways, good night dearies." She says and gives the both of us a kiss on the forehead. "Don't stay up too late talking, you have school tomorrow." She warns then heads back to her room.

"Okay, so what happened?" I ask immediately Nanny is gone.

"Oh, it was crazy." She replies excitedly.

"Yeah, I figured that much." I make a show of looking at her outfit and wig.

"But will you please allow me freshen up? I really need a shower." She asks.

She hurries upstairs and I follow after her but with a lot of worries. I have to tell her what I had seen soon so she can prepare herself for whatever might happen tomorrow.

***

"So what happened?" I ask Grace immediately she lies down beside me. She has already changed into one of my pajamas.

"Where do I start from?" She asks excitedly and I have to admit her happiness is contagious. I can't help smiling.

"I don't know. You tell me."

"Fine." She replies and clears her throat.

"He was going to take me to a fancy restaurant but then I told him I would like to go to a local canteen." She starts and I figure out that's how the pictures came to be.

"It was really hard to find a local canteen around our neighborhood you know, so we went to the mainland." She continues, surprising me.

"You crossed the bridge?!"

"Yeah but we spent almost forty five minutes on it, there was traffic jam." She explains. I'm too shocked to say anything so I only gesture for her to continue.

"We went to the first canteen we found in that locality and we received stares immediately we entered . It was like they could smell someone that didn't belong there but we didn't let that stop us from eating and the food there was really delicious."

"When we were about to leave and Femi suggested that we should go back, I told him to allow us stroll the neighborhood since it was my first time around there and I really wanted to see how it looked like but-

"But what?" I ask curiously when she stops talking and she sighs.

"-It was a bad idea." She completes.

"Uh-oh. Why?"

"While we were walking, we didn't realize that someone was following us because it was dark and then he suddenly appeared in front of us. He asked for my bag and even threatened us with a knife but Femi told me not to give in. He charged angrily towards us with the knife but Femi disarmed him and we decided to go back."

"Was that all that happened?"

She shakes her head and continues.

"Unknown to us, he was actually a member of a group and so when we left him alone, he called for back-up and they ganged up against us later in the front." She ends with a smile.

I give her a wary look. Why is she smiling about the fact that they almost got killed?

"Why are you saying with that a smile?"

"You didn't know Femi was a good fighter, right?" She asks and without waiting for my answer, continues "I didn't know he was too but he turned out to be a pretty impressive one."

"He starts to beat all of them up but he was outnumbered so he also got a few hit. It was like in those movies. I decided to help too and hit one of them on the head with a plank." She finishes with a grimace, earning a chuckle from me.

"It wasn't funny, Cynthia. I thought I had killed someone because he passed out. The others rushed to him and Femi grabs my hand at that moment and after we confirmed he was alive,we began to run." She sighs.

"It was a narrow escape, they almost caught up with us when I was removing my heels because they were hindering me from running well but after pulling it off, we outran them."

I nod in realization.

"That was why you were holding your shoes in those pictures." I comment loudly.

"What pictures?" Grace asks.

"You will know soon enough. Just continue with your story. Was that all that happened?"

She shakes her head again.

"What the-? You guys were on a date for crying out loud?!"

She seems to be in her own world though because there is suddenly this huge grin on her face.

"Why are you grinning?"

"Femi and I are officially dating!" She sits upright and squeals. "He is my boyfriend now!"

"Oh my God!" I squeal along with her and then give her a look of wonder.

"But how?" I ask, smiling.

"Well, when he was about to drop me off by the gate, he kissed me and -

"He kissed you?" I ask with a grin and she nods delightfully. "Look at you becoming all grown up." I repeat the same thing she said to me in the empty classroom this afternoon.

She chuckles and continues, "Anyways, he kissed me and told me that he likes me. I told him it was mutual and he asked me to be his girlfriend!" She ends with a squeal again.

This time, I don't squeal with her and just look at her. "So you agreed to it just like that?" I question.

"Yeah, I did. There was no point in prolonging what's meant to happen." She replies but I give her a sullen look.

"Do you think I'm prolonging matters by not accepting to be John's girlfriend?"

"Do you think he is the one for you now?" She asks in return.

I thought about it for a while and then shake my head.

"But I don't get it. How were you able to agree to him just like that? Aren't you scared that it might be a waste of time and he might just end up being another one of your exes?"

Grace stares at me for a while and smiles. "I guess when you like someone so much that you don't see anything else than being with that person and you trust the person enough to give him your heart, then every other thing doesn't matter."

Wow. This coming from Grace?!

"And you already like Femi that much?" I ask with surprise and she nods enthusiastically with a smile. "I just feel something is holding me back." I add resignedly when nobody speaks.

"Maybe you don't like John enough like you think you do." She offers then wiggles her eyebrows knowingly, "Or maybe there's already someone else."

I stare at her for a while, not knowing what to say. I have never been more confused in my life.

"You have a lot of time to think about that, I, on the other hand, am still curious about something." She says.

"What is that?"

"You mentioned some pictures earlier, which pictures were you talking about?" She asks and I immediately forget about everything else.

"I think the best thing to do is to show you." I reply and open Whatsapp on my phone. I click on our group chat and give the phone to her.

She collects it and goes through the pictures and messages, I watch as she looks at them in shock.

"How did they get our pictures?" She asks still checking through the messages.

"I think the real question should be what we are going to do about the girl that is threatening you." I respond and she looks up from the phone.

"I really don't know what's wrong with these people. Whatever happens in someone else's life is none of their business but they don't get that and this person still has the nerves to say she'll do something to me because Femi belongs to her, he would have told me if he has someone else." She rants and it is obvious that she is beginning to get angry.

"Do you think it's his ex-girlfriend?" I ask with worry.

"So what? I don't care what anyone says and I'm not scared of anyone, they should do whatever they want."

"Even if that means attacking you?" I ask again.

"You're taking this way too seriously. They are saying all those things to scare me but they are wrong if they think I'd be afraid. Let them do what they like." She responds heatedly.

"And you know what? I should report whoever it was that took our picture and posted it for invasion of privacy and for being a stalker." She continues and then starts to scroll through the messages for the particular number that posted the pictures.

"Let's just forget it." I remove the phone from her hands. "You already said you don't care what they say so don't give them the satisfaction that you're bothered about it. Just ignore them."

"You have a point." She replies, sounding a bit calm. "But they better stop all these rubbish and get a life." She adds.

I try hard to keep a straight face, "Yeah, they better do."

We both look at each other at that and burst into laughter.

"You have something to tell me too." She announces and I raise an eyebrow.

"Really?" I ask and she gives me a dead look.

"You promised to tell me about your adventure with Michael when I come back from my date." She says and I smile, remembering.

"Well, I guess I better start."

***

I'm definitely on a roll. Dropping long chapters back to back isn't easy but really, I'm surprised at how easily the words are flowing. I hope you guys like the chapter.

And we get to see a bit of what Femi is also going through in his own world. My boy has been battling with loneliness and if that thought alone isn't depressing 😪. Show him some love, guys and let's pray that his relationship with Grace stays solid❤️❤️.

The next chapter is coming soon. Let's stay updated.

And most importantly, please share, vote and leave comments. Your engagements mean a lot.

Thank you all for following Operation Falling characters' stories this far.

Until next time.

Love you guys ❤️❤️