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So... I've finally discovered a pattern in my updates and I've decided that I'm just going to go with it.

Updating twice a week isn't promised anymore so I will be updating on Wednesdays instead.

A long chapter as usual but it's not edited.

Happy reading!!!

***

Chapter Fifty Three

MICHAEL

"Michael, why don't you just call her and ask her to meet you outside?"

Kunle meets my gaze in the rearview mirror and sighs when he sees the glare that I'm directing towards him.

We've only been waiting in front of Cynthia's house for around thirty minutes and he is already complaining.

I know she's not in the house so there's no use in calling her to meet me. But if I don't see her here in the next ten minutes, I'm asking Kunle to drive to Peter's house whether they are there or not.

I don't know the game Peter is playing at but I'm hundred percent sure he is up to no good. Letting Cynthia know and understand that is just the problem.

I won't deny the fact that I'm relieved by the fact that the date I'll be having with Cynthia is now certain.

The only issue that I have with all of this is that the truth I had decided to tell her on our date is getting compromised. And it's all Peter's fault.

Now I can't even tell her about what Peter has proposed that day concerning her because of his stubbornness.

Which brings me to the confusion on why he doesn't want me to tell her about his proposition in the first place.

What's his deal?

The sight of Peter's white jeep stopping in front of Cynthia's house puts a halt to my thoughts and I breathe a sigh of relief when I see Cynthia get down with nothing out of place.

Well, except the fact that she's putting on his clothes!

Why the hell is his clothes on her body?!

I get down from the car, ready to throw hands at Peter if he had done something to Cynthia but his jeep drives off as soon as I close the door.

"Son of a bitch." I curse at him then begin to approach Cynthia. Kunle tries to come with me but I simply shake my head to stop him.

"Cynthia!" I call her name, not wanting her to enter the house before I get to her.

She pauses but doesn't look back. Then she shakes her head as if she had concluded that she's hearing things and continues towards the gate.

"Cynthia!" I call again and she stops. She shivers a little and I wonder if she's cold. Why is she in his clothes when they aren't even thick ones.

She turns around and stares uncertainly in my direction, probably wondering why I'm in front of her house. I continue to approach her until I'm right in front of her and she's staring up at me.

Without saying a word, I pull off the thick jacket I'm wearing and place it on her shoulders. Satisfied that she has my clothe on her body too.

She starts to smile at me but it freezes on her face after noticing that I'm still not happy about this whole situation.

"Is something wrong?" She asks and I fight the urge to roll my eyes.

"Are you still asking?" I question, like she already stated the obvious. "I just saw Peter drop you off like five minutes ago. That means you spent close to three hours with him." I'm staring with annoyance at his clothes now. "And why the hell are you dressed in his clothes?!"

She gives me a dead look before replying, stunning me with her response. "You do realize I owe you no explanation, right? So why I'm wearing his clothes is none of your business."

"And why were you so intent on getting me away from him? He needed a friend and I was being one for him. I was doing what you were meant to be doing!" She continues.

This time, I actually roll my eyes. I wonder what bullshit he had fed her with while he took her to God knows where.

"Isn't it obvious that he would rather need you to be with him than me or the rest of us? He needs an excuse to get closer to you and you're making it easy for him!" He shouts.

I see something flicker in her eyes but then she's soon glaring at me.

"So you are saying I should have ignored him when he obviously needed someone? You don't know what he is going through and you should definitely not be talking about him like this. He is your friend for crying out loud."

I'm honestly starting to think that word no longer qualifies in describing him.

"Yes, he might be my friend but I very well know what he is after and I'll be damned if I allow him get it. You also have to be careful because I don't want you spending time alone with him no matter the circumstances." I tell her firmly, making sure she knows that I mean everything I just said.

She gives me a look of disbelief, "Are you kidding me right now? Do you even know how you sound?!"

Probably like a jealous boyfriend.

But instead of cringing at the word and not liking how it sounds. I find myself playing it over in my mind.

Boyfriend.

Cynthia's boyfriend.

It doesn't sound that bad if you ask me. And maybe that's why I surprise both of us by pulling her close to me, gazing right into her eyes.

I search the depth of her eyes, seeing confusion and something else. Something I'm too scared to bring myself to admit that might be love.

I know she's falling in love with me.

And I like that fact as much as it scares me.

It was what I wanted.

It was the sole reason I approached her. I wanted her to fall for me.

And now that she is about to, there's no feeling of victory anywhere inside of me.

I know it too.

I know that I'm falling for her.

That she makes me want to give love and commitment a chance.

But this all happened for the wrong reason. And I have to set it right by telling the truth.

Including the one Peter is so against me telling.

When I talk, my voice is a little more than a whisper, "I'm never going to let him win. That's a promise."

She blinks in confusion and then licks her lips nervously. That small action makes me want to close the space between us so bad and kiss her but I control that urge.

I don't deserve to kiss her. Not until she knows the truth. But that has to be as soon as possible because I think I'm going to go crazy if I don't get to touch or kiss her whenever I want to.

And that's why our date is tomorrow.

I clear my throat, easing the tension, "I hope you are preparing well for our date tomorrow." I announce with a smile, like she's already aware that tomorrow is going to be our date.

Her eyes widen as she processes my words, "Tomorrow?"

"Yes. Tomorrow." I lean down to kiss her cheek then release her and turn around. If I didn't do that at that moment, my lips would have been claiming hers.

I wait until I've gotten to the car before looking back, "Don't you dare forget!" I call out before opening and entering the car.

"Let's go." I mutter to Kunle who nods and immediate starts the engine. I wave at Cynthia as we drive past her and sink into the car's seat, happy with myself for making the date tomorrow.

And then I realise I have never taken a girl on a date and don't know the first thing I'm to do.

Oh, shit.

***

We are four gathered at the table in the dining room. All three of them asking each other questions with their eyes, wondering why I've called the sudden meeting stating it as an emergency.

I pull my seat forward, showing them that what we are about to discuss is a very serious issue and all it does is raise the panic in their eyes.

Henry is the first to talk, not able to withstand not knowing what's happening any longer.

He hasn't been coming around to the house as often as he should and that only happens when his wife who is a nurse works night duty at the hospital and he has to take care of their children.

I was glad to find him at home when we arrived because honestly, I could take every advise I could get right now.

"What did you do this time around? Beat a guy to a pulp and have him admitted into a hospital? Insult a girl until she cried and threatened to have you arrested? Returned to that dangerous fighting thing you were doing and got arrested for last year?"

The fact that these are things I have already done and will still probably been doing if I wasn't so preoccupied with a certain coffee eyed girl makes me realise that I really wasn't a good person before but somehow, I'm now a changed person.

"But I thought you got tired of living that way." Henry mutters resignedly, taking my silence to mean 'Yes, I've gotten myself in trouble again'. "You even got the last guy you beat a gift, so I really thought... Now, I will have to call your dad again and start-

"It's okay. You don't have to do that." I cut him off, not wanting to hear anything about my father. I might have changed but the one thing that I'm sure is going to remain constant in my life is my hatred for that man. "I didn't get into any sort of trouble."

I clear off his misunderstanding and he literally breathes a sigh of relief.

"So why are we here?" Maggie is the one who asks this time and I smile, just glad that she's here with me. She glances at Kunle and raises an eyebrow at him again and he just shrugs.

"So, I'm going on a date with this girl and have to plan towards it." I tell them and the stunned look on all their faces is enough to make me burst out in a loud chuckle.

Why do they look like I just told them that I committed murder?

"You are going on a date?" Maggie repeats, not hiding the disbelief in her voice. Then she looks at me like she's not sure I'm Michael or his lookalike. "Who's the girl?" She narrows her eyes. "Don't tell me it's that girl who likes to show up her half naked?"

"No. It's Cynthia."

"Cynthia?" She repeats again.

"I feel like I've heard that name somewhere." Henry mutters to himself.

Kunle says nothing but he fails at trying to hide the smile that's twitching on his face.

"Wait. The girl who slapped you?" Maggie jumps from her seat, like she just pieced an important part of the puzzle together but then sits, a scowl slowly forming on her face. "What are you planning?"

I raise an eyebrow, a smile playing on my lips, "What do you mean what am I planning?"

"Is this part of a revenge plan or something? I warned you against plotting any sort of revenge on her." She mentions sternly.

I grin, "It isn't a revenge plan. I'm taking her on a date because I like her."

Maggie mouth falls open at my words then she turns to Kunle and Henry, "Are you sure that's Michael seated over there?"

Kunle bursts out laughing then but Henry just looks as confused as Maggie is.

"Maggie, stop overreacting. You are a lady with lots of experience so I need your help. Henry is already married so he could bring some ideas from his experience and Kunle is getting married in a couple of months, he will probably know what to to do."

They all glance at one another, a grin still playing on Kunle's lip even though he hasn't said a word.

Maggie clears her throat and gives me a smug smile.

"Well, you've come to the right people."

CYNTHIA

Michael waves at me with a smile as he and his bodyguard drives past me and I watch his car until it's out of sight, still not able to believe that my date with Michael is tomorrow.

I remember how close we were standing just minutes ago and if he could read my mind, he would know how badly I had wanted him to kiss me again. It doesn't help that our last kiss has been popping into my mind randomly and in my dreams.

I glance at my leg, dreading the fact that I will be going on my first date with crutches then remember that tomorrow will make it a week that I've been injured and Nanny has already promised to take me to the hospital to get the cast removed before driving to school.

I don't know how long I stand outside thinking about the day's events before deciding to go inside.

I knock on the gate and Lanre opens it for me. I smile at him as he greets me and I return his greeting before entering the compound.

When I get to the front door, I raise my hand to ring the doorbell but I hesitate. There are three cars in the compound including the one that we took to school this morning and it most definitely mean Nanny is back. She called me twice while I was with Peter but I didn't return her call because I got carried away with John's messages and my discussion with Peter.

What if she's annoyed?

I'm still outside thinking about how Nanny will react when she opened the door and gives me a questioning look.

"What are you standing outside for? I saw you outside and had to open the door."

"It's nothing." I reply with a nervous smile.

She opens the door for me to enter the house and I walked guardedly with my crutches around her to avoid provoking her.

"Where is Sam?" I ask when I don't find him in the living room.

"He is in his room. He just finished doing his homework and went to drop it in his room." She answers and I nod.

She then quickly hurries back to the couch and picks her phone from beside her. She seems to be chatting enthusiastically with someone and from the smile on her face, the person must be an old friend.

I clear my throat and she looks at me and raises her eyebrows.

"What is it?" She asks.

"Uhm, aren't you annoyed with me?"

She looks at me uncertainly, "Should I be annoyed with you?" She then adjusts herself so she is closer to me and gives me a stern look. She asks in a demanding voice. "What did you do?"

"Nanny, I just thought you wil be annoyed that I didn't return your call and the fact that I was with him for long. But I had my phone on silence and then it was raining all of a sudden. We got drenched and we had to hurry over to his place and-

"Is that why you are wearing his clothes? Or aren't those for him?" She asks and I nod.

"If it's because of that then I'm not annoyed. As long as you both didn't do anything." She adds and my eyes widen.

"Of course not!" I almost shout and she chuckles.

"That's good. Besides, Sam and I just got home not too long ago too. On our way home, I decided to go to the supermarket to get some things and I ran into an old friend."

"The one you are chatting with?" I ask and she gives me an amused look.

"How do you know?" She asks and I just shrug because I was lucky to guess correctly.

"Yeah, he is the one I'm chatting with. We used to be coursemates in the university and he wanted to date me then but I had eyes for just Tunde so I rejected." She explains and it piques my interest, glad that I'm learning a new side to Nanny's love story.

"We met again today in the supermarket after almost ten years and I found out that he is a single dad now with a cute four-year old daughter. He lost his wife in an accident." She ends with a sigh and my face falls.

"Oh, that's so sad. How is he coping now?"

"His wife is dead for almost a year now but he is yet to marry another wife." She tells me and I raise an eyebrow.

"Do you think he hasn't gotten over his wife's death or he hasn't found someone else?"

"I don't know for sure but I guess his daughter is his first priority now."

"But she also needs a mother, doesn't she?" I ask.

"Yeah, she does considering the fact that he is a banker and is always hardly home." She continues and I shake my head.

The poor girl is going to grow up feeling alone if she has neither of her parents with her. After experiencing that first hand, I know how it could feel. I'm just glad Nanny came into my life when she did.

"You should eat lunch and freshen up. You might want to go to bed early too because uu have to wake as early as possible so you can get the cast in your ankle removed." She says and I smile at the thought. I'm finally going to get rid of these crutches tomorrow and it is a very good thing.

I did as Nanny said and ate my lunch and freshened up.

Now, I'm lying on my bed and checking to see if I have messages when I see one from Grace and one from John. I ignore John's message and click on Grace's.

I wonder if she's just waking from her nap. She didn't even return the missed calls I gave her after reading John's messages.

She had a sent a message asking me to send her a message whenever I'm online so I do.

Me: Hey, girlfriend.

Grace: Finally! I've been waiting for you since forever.

Me: Lol. It's not like I am your long lost lover.

Grace: I didn't see your missed calls until now and was just about to call you. I feel like I've missed out on a lot.

Me: Not really.

Grace: What's with Peter though?

Me: I can't tell you. It's not my story to tell but he's been through a lot.

Grace: I understand. Hope everything has been sorted?

Me: I don't know if it can be put that way but I helped in the way that I could.

Grace: Well, that's better than nothing.

I consider telling Grace about what I found out today and start to type before I can change my mind.

Me: I actually found out something today.

Grace: Really? What's it about?

Me: It's about Peter. I think he likes me.

Grace: Oh!! Really?! May I ask what gave that away?

I narrow my eyes at her response, knowing very well that she is being sarcastic.

Me: I'm being serious.

Grace: I never said you weren't. I'm just surprised it took you this long to find out.

I roll my eyes at her response before replying.

Me: So you are trying to say you know he likes me already?

Grace: Of course. He hides his feelings well but I guess he can't help it when he is around you because he makes it so obvious. I'm even surprised it took you this long to find out.

Me: You can't blame me for having better things to do than studying people to see if they have a crush on me or not.

Grace: It's called being observant.

Me: Anyways, what do you think I should do?

Grace: It's up to you, girlfriend. You have three cute guys fighting for your attention. I know John is cancelled but you can't ignore the fact that he looks good.

Me: Speaking of John, he asked me out on a date.

I text her casually like I'm just mentioning to her that I've picked my clothes from the tailor.

And as expected, her response is totally what she should send.

Grace: WTF?!!!!!!!!! 😳😳. IS HE INSANE?

Me: That was exactly what crossed my mind.

Grace: Wait, let's be true to ourselves here. You and I know he isn't aware that you have found out his lie so he might still think you like each other.

Me: But I'm sure he noticed that I have been ignoring his messages. That's supposed to make him understand that I'm possibly annoyed with him.

Grace: Well, I think John has an habit of seeing just what he wants to see. That's why you need to talk to him and leave him no choice than to listen to you.

Me: I know right? I can't believe I didn't notice all these until now and kept liking him. He's a liar and he's also self centred.

Grace: Calm down, baby girl. We can bitch about John later, right now we need to sort out this complications.

Me: Okay.

I respond, waiting for her to give me the advice that's going to magically resolve this situation. I know I'm mostly in my head so I can't really rely on myself to do things right. Sometimes, I'm glad Grace has had lots of relationships since she definitely has experience when it comes to these things.

Grace: We are going to take this one by one. Let's start with John. We both know now that he listens to only what he wants to listen to. So that means even if it will take you going on that date with him, you will go and tell him how you truly feel about him.

I can do without the part where I'm on a date with him but I don't say anything. I will just try to tell him without having to go on a date with him.

Another message of hers enters before I can reply the first one.

Grace: Peter's side is pretty simple actually. Ask him straight up if he likes you so you know you aren't concluding on your own and if he says yes, put him down gently. We both know Peter isn't the one you are going for 😉.

I chuckle at her wink emoji and let out a sigh.

Me: So I guess that leaves Michael.

Grace: Yeah! You both can now proceed to confess your love to each other and live happily ever after. The end.

I sigh as I read the last two words of her message. If only it was that simple.

Me: In that note, let me tell you that you have a date to prepare me for tomorrow.

Grace: Huh?

Me: Michael won the deal. So we are going on a date tomorrow.

Grace: OMG!!!! Just leave it to me. I assure you, it will be purr-fect.

I'm leaving it to her alright. I don't know anything about planning dates anyways.

Grace: Babe. I will be right back. Gimme a minute.

I go back to John's message. There's no more avoiding now. All I want is an explanation.

His response is a short one.

Sure. We'll see at school tomorrow?

I type in my response. Yes.

With that, I switch off my data and let myself daydream about a date with Michael.

***

I can't sleep.

I glance at the alarm clock on my bedside table and discover that it's just past 12am. I sigh and fall back on my bed. I have a lot of things on my mind and the most important being the date that I'm having later today.

I don't know why but I've been thinking continuously about it. Maybe it's because it's my first date or that it so happens to be with the most popular boy in our school.

I guess I was too quick to judge Grace when she called me very early in the morning to remind me about her date with Femi because now I understand her.

My mind also drifts to Peter, his past experiences and what I discovered today. If he really likes me, maybe Michael had found out and that's why he didn't want us to spend time together.

But for Michael to react that way, it must mean he also likes me. I grin at that thought, allowing myself to enjoy the giddy feelings while it lasts.

Am I getting ahead of myself? Yes.

Will I stop? No.

I drift in and out of sleep and finally, when I wake up for the fourth time that day, I discover it is already dawn. I try to sleep back but to no avail so I get out of the bed and decide to help Nanny cook before she wakes up. She always does it every morning so I am sure she will be surprised to find me in the kitchen.

Any thoughts I have of surprising her vanish when I get down to the kitchen quietly with my crutches and see her there already, yawning and heading for the coffee maker.

"Good morning." I greet.

She shrieks and clutches her chest, spinning around so quick I thought she might break her neck.

"Oh my God, Cynthia! You scared me!" She squeals, her hand still on her chest.

"I'm sorry, Nanny. I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to surprise you." I say with a small smile.

"Well, you succeeded." She responds and goes back to making her coffee while I join her. "Why are you up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep." I reply and she turns to me with a questioning look.

"And why is that?" She asks but before I can answer, a look of realisation flashes across her face. "Oh, I'm guessing it has to do with the date you are having later today." She adds.

She knows?!

"You know?"

"If only Grace didn't scream it whenever her team came first in a sport." She smiles and shakes her head, like she's remembering. "Heard it was a deal of some sort. I don't like that you are going on a date because of a deal you made, but I'll take it since it's with that Michael guy."

I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out. For her to say something like that, Michael must have surely won her over and I want to know what he did to make her like this.

She seems me fumbling for something to say and gives me a calming smile, "Dear, you have nothing to be nervous about." She squeezes my hand.

I let out a side, deciding to just go with her, "It's my first date, Nanny."

"I know you are nervous because it is your first date but honestly, it's no big deal. Just be yourself and I'm sure you would have a fantastic evening."

"Alright, Nanny." I reply but deep inside of me, I know it is easier said than done.

"Do you want to go back to sleep? This is just 5a.m. You can still sleep for one more hour." She says and I give her a look of protest.

"Just one more hour? My alarm doesn't wake me up till 7a.m."

"You have an appointment with the doctor by 7a.m. and if you want to get to school as early as possible, you have to wake up as early as possible." She replies and I groan.

"Don't worry, even if the alarm fails to wake you up, I'll wake you up myself." She states and I smile.

"Okay, Nanny and thanks." I lean in to give her a peck on her cheek.

She smiles in response and starts to pour her coffee into a cup.

I go back to my bedroom and this time, when I lay on my bed to sleep, it comes right away.

***

I feel someone tap me on my leg and I let out of a groan of displeasure.

I'm just starting to enjoy my sleep for crying out loud.

"Cynthia, wake up. You have to get up now if you want to go to the hospital and have your cast removed before school starts." Nanny says as she taps my leg again.

"Nanny, let me sleep for ten more minutes." I reply drowsily and she chuckles.

"Just get up already." She replies and pulls my blanket from my body. "I'll help you lay out your uniform and other things so you can dress up quickly."

She heads straight for my wardrobe to do just that, leaving me on the bed to get rid of the sleep from my eyes. Reluctantly, I stand up and hop to the bathroom. I'm honestly tired of using my crutches.

Fifteen minutes later, I walk into my room wrapped in a towel and smile when I see that Nanny has done what she had said she would do. As I approach my bed to check if she has really gotten everything, I notice a paper bag on it.

I open it to check what is inside and I discover that Nanny had helped me wash Peter's clothes and they are now folded clean in the bag. I also notice that Michael's sweater is also folded in the bag. I carefully remove it from the bag so as not to unfold Peter's clothes and put it in my wardrobe.

I'll return Peter's clothes but Michael's sweater now belongs to me. I'll tell him I forgot to bring it whenever he asks about it.

I suddenly remember his words from yesterday, 'I hope you are preparing well for our date tomorrow." "Don't you dare forget!'

I fall back on my bed as I take in the fact that today's the day I go out on a date with Michael and I'm feeling both excited and nervous.

Just like he had said, I couldn't forget that today is our date. I was dreaming about it when Nanny woke me.

He had arranged a romantic candle-lit dinner in his backyard. We had danced to a slow music and he had confessed his love to me.

I fall back on my bed, smiling at the dream as it replays in my head.

I don't know what he has planned for our date but I do know that while the romantic dinner and the dance might happen, the chance of him confessing his love to me is next to nothing.

Since he doesn't believe in it.

I let myself off the bed with a dramatic sigh and grab my body cream.

I'm not going to drive myself crazy hoping for something that's not sure. Whatever happens tonight, I'm going to go along with it.

"Cynthia! Are you dressed yet?!" Nanny calls out from the living room.

"Almost!" I call back and quickly start to dress up.

***

Writing isn't easy. Nobody can tell me otherwise but I can't wait to write about their date. I'm getting lots of ideas right now and... Let's just see how it turns out sha.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Updates will be on Wednesdays now.

Until next week.

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See ya 🥰.