Mr Abdul, I just read the closing part of this chapter and I got more restless. Please I can't wait for the next phase to start.

Such a masterpiece should never be cutshort. Me,myself and I is pleading that you should start uploading immediately.
Thanks.

Your no 1 fan.
Cross.

Thanks a lot boss.

Thank you very much for following me to the end of this chapter. Personally, I feel like I need a break of about a month but I have too many stories to write after this. So, hopefully last chapter starts in a few days.

Keep reading.

crossfm:
Mr Abdul, I just read the closing part of this chapter and I got more restless. Please I can't wait for the next phase to start.

Such a masterpiece should never be cutshort. Me,myself and I is pleading that you should start uploading immediately.
Thanks.

Your no 1 fan.
Cross.

You're welcome boss.

Anytime!

Carterj007:
Thank you so much.

Also we are opening a new site. Updates will still be posted here on Nairaland of course.

adeabdul2:
Thanks a lot boss.

Thank you very much for following me to the end of this chapter. Personally, I feel like I need a break of about a month but I have too many stories to write after this. So, hopefully last chapter starts in a few days.

Keep reading.

Am glad we will be getting updates in few days time.
Why am glued to your story is that it depicts a true picture of what is happening in our society,no too much magic involved.


The plots,twist,descriptions and costumes infuse one with the novel.

In as much as I want to see the end of this love story, I will advice you don't rush it,so that it's originality will not be lost.

Thanks for sharing this with us.

You say the nicest things.

I will try not to rush it. Though that's going to be hard to do because I just want to move on. But for you? Anything.

Thanks boss

crossfm:

Am glad we will be getting updates in few days time.
Why am glued to your story is that it depicts a true picture of what is happening in our society,no too much magic involved.


The plots,twist,descriptions and costumes infuse one with the novel.

In as much as I want to see the end of this love story, I will advice you don't rush it,so that it's originality will not be lost.

Thanks for sharing this with us.

Masterpiece

DID #moura7 just call my work a MASTERPIECE!?

*breathless*

Oh my God!

Moura7:
Masterpiece

Just know say your number 1 fan they here and thanks for lovely masterpiece.

Oh my God!

Thank you so much boss

mokoh:
Just know say your number 1 fan they here and thanks for lovely masterpiece.

adeabdul2:
DID #moura7 just call my work a MASTERPIECE!?

*breathless*

Oh my God!

Sure thing bro

You try bruh

You guys are the best!

Muchas Gracias!

Infinite Love 105

The Price

Atesamipere Uduaghan grew up in a failing household. His father was an ostracized prince from the Jakpa royal family due to his heavy spending, gambling and disorderly conduct totally unworthy of a royal name.

So, they left Delta State and came to Lagos when he was a teenager. His mother had to do most of the heavy lifting of raising the family while their father either left on one his “trips” or made their lives miserable whenever he was home. Being uprooted from their ancestral home was devastating enough to young Tessi who grew up with a royal air about him, but moving to the harsh realities of Lagos State was almost a shock too much to bear.

While there was always a tree or a farm nearby giving his home that natural feel that he always adored, Lagos was mostly covered in iron rusts and cement slabs. While his home town was serene and quiet, Lagos was always blazing with the noises of people too busy to help a boy find his way around and blaring with the noise of traffic during the day followed by the irritable noises of electrical generators at night, forcing him to toss and turn in his sleep.

But worst of all, transportation made his life miserable for the first few months he was there. He couldn’t count the many times he took the wrong bus to school or missed his bus stop due to sleeping in the bus or the many shuffles and struggles and pushes and pulling with the older adults in order to board a bus to school. His home town was filled with people who knew each other well and even if they didn’t know you, they were considerate enough of the young ones to let them in first and give them prime seats inside the buses. The young shall  grow afterall.

In the metropolis of Lagos, nobody ever bothers to stop to consider anybody, the adults don’t consider the kids, the young don’t consider the old and whenever any buses arrive nobody ever bothers to queue or form a line but instead begin a tug of war in order to get in first.

So, many times he had sustained elbows jabs, knuckles to the face and all kinds of bruises while struggling to board a bus. His clothes would be rumpled and his bag would often get torn. He longed for some sanity at the bus.

One time,  he actually started a queue at the bus stop hoping that people could learn to enter the buses in a civilised manner and with a little persuasion people actually queued up.

But as soon as the next bus got in sight, the teachers, bankers and civil servants and all other educated people who should know better, abandoned any sense of civility and ran for the bus like mad men and women. That was when Tessy realized that Lagos could not be tamed. One simply had to blend with the system, no matter how senseless.

And so the very next day, as he got to the bus stop, he rolled up his sleeves in preparation for battle. As soon as the very first bus arrived, he dashed for it and pushed the old man in from of him away. The lady beside him had stretched out her arm to block his entrance but he merely ducked underneath it to get in front of her and pushed her backwards with his body, securing a seat for himself first before everyone else.

They were shocked! The young gentleman they knew had become a pushing and jabbing monster! And so by mastering transportation in Lagos he felt a little peace. But what eventually made Lagos conducive for him was the school.

School was awesome! He rocked it effortlessly. He was tall, taller than most in his class and he was attractive, he knew it but most of all, he was funny. He could have anyone and everyone laughing at his loud jokes whenever he wanted. And he was almost always in a funny mood at school. Which is quite different from his home life.

His home life was depressing due to his fathers misdemeanours but there was nothing he could do about that, but at school. At school he was Tessy T-Kool and Big-T. School was his domain and everyone flocked around him everywhere. From the very first day he attended High School we was king. Everybody liked him, the boys and mostly the girls too. Everybody, except one person. Sade.

She was the class outcast and everybody either stayed clear of her or made fun of her. She had no friend and she was friends with no one. She had strikingly big and long tribal marks of which made her an easy target for jests and ridicule but she also almost always smelled slightly of fish or meat or pepper which made her even more easier to make fun of. The girl was poor too from the state of her clothes, there was an old and worn out look to them. Thus she was the class constant butt of jokes but still she never responded, rather she would bury her head deeper and deeper into a book or novel as she was always holding one.


When he first got to school he never wanted to be the type of person who made of anyone, he only wanted to make everyone laugh with silly jokes and goofy impressions but after a while he realised that making fun of her was just how the class was made and so he too joined in the yab. Whenever, the class was making fun of her he too would add in one or two yabs just to feel among. Feeling among was most important to him, he wanted to be surrounded by people always so as to forget the depressing state of his house.

Eventually, he realised that he had increased in his frequency of yabbing her. Whenever, he was in class he would basically start making fun of her all by himself without anyone else contributing. As soon as he saw her he would start. He would make fun of her squarely nonstop, all day and everyday even when nobody cared to listen but still she would not utter a word to him in response or even look at him.

And for some reason, he realised that it bothered him that she wouldnt say anything. He would go home and be thinking about her, he would spend the night on his bed thinking of how he would get her to notice him in class the next day or if she would say something. But still, she only kept to herself though he wanted more of a reaction from her. No matter what hed say or do, she would not respond.

She kept to herself and never even went out for break periods to play and socialise with the rest, she would just stay back in class all alone. The only time he or anyone ever saw a reaction from her was when their english teacher was in class. She loved English and was the official best english student in class due to her constant reading although not the best student overall.

Her only friend in the entire school then was the English teacher and it showed clearly in their rapport in class. It was only for Mrs Ikele that she would read out loud in class, ask and would become animated. She would ask and respond to questions, she would make observations and suggestions or even sing and dance. Tessy found himself becoming envious of their English teacher.

He wished she would open up to him like that because the few times that he had observed her talking to Mrs Ikele, he had seen a very intelligent girl with a nice personality different from all the ones  in their class. She could actually be as charming as he if she wants to be. But the rest of her she kept closed off to him and everyone else in school except Mrs Ikele no doubt. But as they got into their final years something crazy happened.

While everyone else had hit puberty earlier on in their class, the boys voices got thicker and some grew moustaches, the girls' hips widened and their bosoms ballooned out. She had remained fairly the same but just got a bad case of acne and she even got skinnier. Now close to their final year suddenly, her body began to change. She was always tall but now that she was standing straight her chest popped out revealing small round and supple breasts. Her skin got more supple and her hair, her hair became so full it became a crown.

It was madness. He couldn't believe it. He gone round dating all the girls in school like everyone else but it felt flimsy, on a whim and nothing serious. But now he had found the only girl he was attracted to, she turned out to be untouchable. Over time Tessy had become completely obsessed about getting to know her better.


So eventually, in their final term as soon as the holiday was over and school resumed. He started becoming nicer towards in order to get her to like him. He stopped making fun of her and instead treated her with respect. But all that didnt work. She only regarded him with great suspicion and nothing more. But one day he thought of an idea. When everyone else had gone off to eat and play during the class break he stayed behind with her. He moved close to her and didnt say a word to her, instead he just brought a novel. One of those kinds that he knew she loved to read and began reading without saying a word to her. He could feel her shocked expression and he could sense her staring at him throughout the break period. The next day he did the same thing and he could feel her desire to engage with him in conversation, but the day after that when he did the same thing she asked: "Excuse me, is that a Sidney Sheldon book you're reading?"

"Oh yes. This one is called if tomorrow comes. Very interesting."

"Yes, I know. I've read it many times. she said smiling and he wanted that moment to last forever and have her smile at him forever."

That day, they both talked until break was over and they did the next day and the day after that. Always talking in secret while the rest of the class was on break until when one of his friends came back from break early.

"What is going on, here? Why are you too laughing? Are you boyfriend and girlfriend now? GUYS COME O! TESSY AND SHARKFACE ARE BOYFRIEND AND GIRLFRIEND!"

His friend had caught them merely talking and he was going to call on the rest of the class to make fun of him, him! So by the time they all gathered around them, he casted her once again.

"No o, of course not! Why would I date such an ugly girl like scarface sharkface? She was the one coming to talk to me! Everyday, she tries more and more to get close to me but I am not interested in talking to someone, who reeks of fish, meat and pepper that she sells under the bridge at Idumota."

He said curtly and the class roared in laughter and so he went on and on ranting about how desirable and ugly she was. He said each and every negative thing that came to his mind in order to keep the class from turning against him and making fun of him. He thought he would see her stoic expression as he usually did but this time she genuinely looked hurt. Her frozen expression had turned into one of hurt and he could see the pain in her eyes. She had thought of him as a friend even though in secret and now hed betrayed her in front of the whole class. She never again spoke to him after class till they graduated and went their separate ways.

Eventually, his father got his act together and put the job of rebuilding the familys reputation as well as the family business upon Tessy. At his fathers behest he dropped everything to rebuild his familys royal standing with their native land. He went to business school instead of music school that he wanted and he took jobs he never liked but did anyways. He travelled abroad to foreign places and met different faces that he never cared for because he father needed him and he was happy to help reinstate their familys reputation.

But after all the years, after all the places hed been and all the faces hed seen and all the people hed met, it was the face of the quiet girl in his high school that he never ever forgot. No matter how hard he tried she stayed with him and he couldnt forget her. Those few times that they had talked about novels, romance and different stories alone during break while the rest of the class were out to lunch were the single most happiest days of his entire life. Often times, hed dream he was back in school with her still talking until hed wake up and become depressed again. He longed to see her again but why would she ever want to see him.

He had made life miserable for her and when they became friends he betrayed her out of cowardice because he didnt want to lose being the cool dude in school. What a joke. He found that he couldnt remain in a relationship permanently, no matter how hard he tried or how long he stay. Those women, no matter which country he met them or how beautiful they were, they just didnt hold him spell bound as she had done.

His family was getting worried about his bachelorhood and his father had informed him more than once that the chiefs of the land were considering making him the next king  in favour of his cousin and so he would have to get married soon. So, when next he was back in the country and one of his friends informed him of a reunion being organized by his old secondary school mates, he made time to attend out of his busy schedule but after staying all day talking to mostly people he no longer cared about he finally asked of his friends about her.

"Sade? Oh no. she never attends reunions. But last I heard, I think she was selling fish or food or something. Can you imagine she still a local girl?" He said laughing.

He was disgusted to hear the same old namecalling that they, including himself used to call her and as he couldnt find out anything else about her he promptly left the reunion disappointing them. They had expected to meet the old Tessy who would made them all laugh with his goofy jokes and gather them around him with his charm. But he not been that guy for years, he had left him back in high school and never made jokes ever since. He soon realised that the way he felt about her was not normal and came be questioning his feelings about her.

"Had she charmed him with black magic or something? He thought.

It wasn't entirely uncommon in our country given the fetish culture we have. So he asked the person he knew had the most experienced with women; his dad.

"Dad, how would you if a woman charmed you? I mean with actual juju." He asked when he went to see his father in their village home.

His father paused to think for a bit before asking "What are the effects of the charm?" He asked.

"Always...thinking about the girl."

"Well, I once slept with a Togolese woman in an hotel in Lagos and later on I couldn't stop thinking about her until I found myself in at her home in Lome. Till date I still don't remember crossing the border."

"Wow...?"

"I remember visiting a friend in Akwa Ibom state one time and his neighbour was always coming around. After spending a night with her, I couldn't remember how to get back to Warri or Lagos for the life of me. My friend later had to send for my father and grandfather to come rescue me after about five months."

"Ehn? What..?" He gasped and his father laughed.

"Yeah, unfortunately, I lived a very risky life when I was your age and I met a few women who wouldn't mind nabbing a young and handsome man by any means necessary."

"Wow. That explains a lot."

"I know. Just be careful now you hear? We still have a lot to do for our plan to be fulfilled."

"Yes, father." He paused and then added "But is it possible to be charmed by a woman without sleeping with her?"

His father furrowed his brow "Without sleeping with her?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you eat her food?"

"No sir. And the last time I saw her we were kids in secondary school."

"That's over fifteen years ago!"

"Yes, sir!"

His father looked at him directly in the eyes and said "Son, only God puts that kind of charm between a man and a woman. It's called love!"


He was shocked. That was the first time he ever heard that he might be in love with her. He tried his possible best to find her. He asked his old school  buddies and searched everywhere and online but he couldn't find her. Eventually, he got frustrated and gave up. It was madness to search for someone who he hurt so much and probably never wants to see him again. And for all he knew she might have died years ago and he was searching for a ghost. I mean who else doesn't have a Facebook page?

He tried to forget her and move on with his life after trying to no avail to reconnect with her. So he returned to his job oversees but eventually on one of his trips back home his car suddenly overheated and stopped working in the middle of the road. He was standing right beside the car at the bus stop when one of those big blue mass transportation buses stopped in front of him. Usually, he never looked at them twice as he never took public transportation but something or someone caught his eyes.

And immediately as he had seen her there seated gracefully, in the bus with her hair in a scarf he knew it was her and his heart stopped and he froze. She must have felt him staring at him for no sooner had he seen her, she saw him and they both paused. And stared. Time froze as they both regarded each other with surprised eyes. She was looking just like the way the did back then but her face was rounder and her body was more feminine as that of a very attractive woman and her tribal marks didn't seem to bother her beauty, matter of fact. It almost complimented it. Then the bus started moving away and still their eyes stayed glued to one another until he was losing sight of her. He was losing her again and so he panicked.

He never realised when he started running and began chasing the bus on the highway until the other motors began horning angrily at him but still he didnt care. He began shouting at the bus to stop it was already too far and she just sat there transfixed as she stared at him chasing after her bus. Eventually, he tripped and fell and lost her again.

But from that day for the next few months he relocated back Lagos and took that same bus everyday for months until he found her again. He proposed on the spot. And after another few months of cajoling her she finally agreed. He soon realised that his old comedic self was back. He could make jokes and make others laugh again. She had brought him back.

When his father found out his future bride. He was summoned to the reinstated royal family palace where his father pleaded with him to drop the relationship as the locals would prefer their next king marry from their tribe and not an outsider, a Yoruba woman. Through tears and a lot of efforts, he explained to his father that if he was ever prevented from marrying her, he would rather not marry at all.

And at the possibility of his son never marrying, never bearing children and therefore ending the family line, his father had to beg the chiefs to allow his son marry an outsider for his queen to which they eventually agreed. Still, Tessy was informed that such a thing had never been done before in the land, for a king to wed an outsider and so he was warned that many would come to ridicule him  or his reign over it. And that condition he gladly accepted, for if the price of happiness was to be ridiculed about whom he married, he would gladly pay that price.

Boss wen will we be expecting something in your website

What an update. All hail king Tessy the great. Thanks for the update and feed us more.

Wednesday boss. God willing.

I'm so tired of not writing. Seriously, how did I not write all those years?

mokoh:
Boss wen will we be expecting something in your website

adeabdul2:
Wednesday boss. God willing.

I'm so tired of not writing. Seriously, how did I not write all those years?

Thanks for the info

It is not proper to read this piece and not commend the writer for a very good job done so far.

I've been held spellbound in anticipation of what happens next.

A very good storyline with a very high comic relief.

Please don't leave us dry.

I wish you more speed to your fingers.

What a wonderful comment! Thank you so much. I feel warm and fuzzy all over.

efeteb:
It is not proper to read this piece and not commend the writer for a very good job done so far.

I've been held spellbound in anticipation of what happens next.

A very good storyline with a very high comic relief.

Please don't leave us dry.

I wish you more speed to your fingers.

Dont relenr in posting the part 3 chapters on your blog.....I read there unlike here.....few days never reach ni.....following ASAP...please post o....can't wait for the new chapters bruh....more ink to your PEN bro.....and if this later turned into a book ...I would be in top ten to buy....You gat my support���

Thanks boss.

You guys are awesome!

Monero1402:
Dont relenr in posting the part 3 chapters on your blog.....I read there unlike here.....few days never reach ni.....following ASAP...please post o....can't wait for the new chapters bruh....more ink to your PEN bro.....and if this later turned into a book ...I would be in top ten to buy....You gat my support���

You asked for it.

So Chapter 3 Starts Tonight

Infinite Love 106

A King's Charm

Tin can Otobos man was going to the car door to open it, the very door Onos was directly behind.

He could hear the footsteps coming closer and closer and he was losing his nerve. All of a sudden he needed to toilet and he could feel hot pee building up to overflow inside his bladder. He squeezed his knees together to keep from wetting himself as he didnt want to embarrass himself before his friends and Gerry but the fear of being caught by Otobo and his men was becoming overwhelming.

His breathing had become difficult due to his anxiety and not because they were hiding under a pile of clothes. The cars AC was on but he couldnt feel the coolness as he was sweating profusely out of fear. Oh my God he was about to be caught, his body began trembling and he had the sudden instinct to jump out of the car and run widely in whatever direction away from the danger and as he was about seriously contemplating this, Michael whispered:

"I should go out!"

"What? No!" Dayo whispered hardly back to him.

"They are about to catch us all in here. Who knows what Otobo might do."

"And what exactly is your plan?"

"I was thinking I run down and try to distract them while Tessy and you guys get a chance to drive away and escape."

"No, Mike. That won't work." Gerry said "There's too many of them."

"She's right Michael. The best thing we all can do is to wait here. Even though the tension of waiting feels more painful that actually getting caught by these guys. If you can believe it."

"So, we wait and then what?"

"Let's just wait." Onos said finally speaking up. Listening to his friends had calmed him down a bit. "...and hope that Tessy finds a way to get us out of this even if they do catch us. He is a king afterall."

And with that they all hid quietly back down under the pile of clothes in the back.

"General, I tink I see something inside dis car." Tincan said.

"Wetin ya dey wait for? Open it jor!"

Tessy was at his wit's end. He was not in his home town in Delta state where some people are still giving him attitude over marrying a foreigner, but at least back there he still had some authority.

Right here, in Bayelsa he was more or less a visitor and since Bayelsa had no king at the moment due to their chiefs' shinanegans, he didn't even have any comtemporary to call to back him up in the state. What would he do? What should he do? He thought cluelessly.

He had no idea. Militants were a little more difficult to control due to their armunitions and that gave them the illusion of power. But often enough they stayed in their lanes and don't challenge royalties or monarchies but their miscreant chiefs had selected the very worst in the state for their misdemeanors.

These guys where armed to the teeth and they feared nothing. There are very little things that people fear more than guns and...And that's when the idea hit him. It was a long shot but there was no other hand to play here.

"STOP THERE, TINCAN! You Otobo or whatever it is you call yourself. HOW DARE YOU CHALLENGE ME. I AM A KING! I am a king through and through and who are you? You are nothing but a wretched creek boy that your chiefs gave a gun to, to go and do their dirty works. You are nothing without their support, nothing!"

"All these guns they have given you is nothing! If your amnesty deal falls apart, you will be finished and the soldiers will gun you and the rest of your men down like chickens.

And all the powers they have fortified you with is nothing compared to what is living inside me. If you don't believe me. Go ahead and touch my car. IF YOU DARE! If you all don't run mad in three days call me a bastard!

And with that, Tessy removed his royal beads and tossed them in the car, one after the other surprising Otobo and his men. And he reached into his cars glove compartment and took a mysterious item that he secretly tossed it into his mouth. Next he banged the car door with his left hand three times, raised left leg slightly off the floor and began chewing the mysterious item slowly with his mouth without saying anything to them anymore.

Otobo and his men were petrified. They had never seen this kind of behaviour before. What could it mean? Was it curse? Was he about to curse them or had he already cursed them? Otobo was secretely terrified but he kept a straight face. He had heard of the high level of spiritual powers that kings possess. It was said that kings used to bathe everyday in a giant pot of boiling herbs and fetishes for protection from enemies. And that they slept of a mat covering the bones of their enemies for a long life and that part of the coronation of a new king involved eating the inards particularly the very heart of the previous king, in order to fortify themselves with ancient spiritual powers.

But he Otobo had powers too, so he shouldnt be afraid.he thought and then he remembered that it was the chiefs of the land that secured the spiritual powers for him and he had angered them. Also the previous curse that his sorceror performed for him last, was to prevent any man from marrying Gerry Odafe but she had gotten married and nothing extraordinary happened to her groom so maybe his sorcerer's magic might be waning.

"E beta make I no near dis king o." He thought "Their own na ancient sup power."

But what was he going to do. He was Major General Otobo afterall! Otobo the fearless, Otobo the indestructible. No man should hear that he was afraid of anything or anyone. He should never be seen to back down from anything or else it could reduce him in front of his men.

"So, instead he said; "Tincan, wat are you doing dia? I tell ya say make ya check de car an you still dey stand dia, you dey craze?"

"Ah, general. Sorry, sir. I..."

Tincan wanted to open the door as Otobo had commanded but looking at the glaring eyes of Tessy, he feared for his sanity. Too many mad men and women already roam the expressways of Bayelsa's federal roads and he feared to think that he would be joining them in three days.

"Oga, please now."

He whispered to Tessy for assistance but Tessy just glared at them all and continuing chewing the mysterious item quietly.

"Una go see una self on three days time." His eyes seemed to say.

Tincan hesitated further and Otobo came over and slapped him across the head.

"YOU DEY CRAZE! I SAY MAKE YA SHECK DE CAR! SO SHECK DE CAR!"

So at this Tincan raised his hand to grab the car door handle but Otobo immediately slapped his hand back down.

"JUS SHECK DE CAR BY LOOKING WIT YA EYES1 LOOK DE CAR WEL!"

And with that Tincan became animated. He was very grateful to not have to touch the forbidden car and he jumped up and down round and round the car shouting.

"Yes general, I am checking de car. I am checking the car very well."

And he eyed the car from a distance at all sides before coming back to report to Otobo.

"Yes, general. I have checked the car and It is empty. Nobody is inside the car."

"YA SURE?"

"Yes, general. I have checked it thoroughly, nothing dey inside am."

"Okay, das alright. Oga, you kan move." And with that Otobo nodded to Tessy that he could go and Tessy with all his energy, trying not to laugh slowly lowered his left foot and entered the car. All of Otobos men turned away and as he turned on his car's ignition, he was about to drive away when Otobo promptly came to his side window. Looking very gravely at him.

Thanks for the update. Otobo better behave himself.

Thank you very much

Aww...you're welcome guys.
Anything for #hotswagg12 and #mokoh

Infinite Love 107

The Message

As King Tessy entered his jeep, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. If anyone of Otobo’s man had indeed opened his car door they would have detected the persons they were looking for, under the traditional clothes that he had bought for his wife in the back seat.

They were even properly hidden, if they had only looked closely, they would have easily detected them because four people cannot be well hidden under the few clothing in the back seat. If they had been discovered, Otobo would have riled up his men and extricated them and he, even though a king would have not been able to help them because Bayelsa was not his kingdom and even in his own kingdom, many people still didn’t support him for breaking the age-old tradition of marrying a local as his first queen. He was indeed fortunate that he had managed to bluff his way out of that tight corner. He slotted the key into the ignition and as the jeep roared into life, Otobo came to the driver’s side window.

“Bros!” he said.

Tessy was startled by his sudden reappearance that he at first, became frozen out of shock. “Hmm!” was all he could muster at Otobo’s gravely looking bony face.

“I respect you, dat’s why I kom bak.” He said whispering.

“Hmm.” Was still all that Tessy could manage to say.

“I no be persin wey like faolense an I no wan fall ya hand…”

“Uh huh!”

“… so I kon tel you say, make you see like bad persin. And I no be ya enemy. Infact, I be ya friend, if f**king bodi dey tear eye for you make you kall me. I mean any f**king persin. I go kom, no mata where ya dey or de persin dey.”


“Hm hmmm?”

“Ya! I dey tel you. I promis you!”

“Hmm!”

“Ya, becos I hear say many peeple dey give you sh*t for ya town on top say ya marry Yoruba woman. If ya make I clear dem jus kol me one time! Dat tis rasizem, me I dey like make persin dey rasist. You hear me, bros?”

“Hmm.” Tessy hummed as if mouth was still full of the mysterious item he was chewing and also because he wasn’t sure how to respond. Otobo before now had been antagonizing him but now he was offering to be a hitman for his opponents. “What is going on here?” he thought but then he remembered that he still had the runaways that Otobo was searching for partially concealed behind him. So, he spread himself up straight as much as he could so as to block the back-seat view from Otobo.

“So, bros abeg ehn? I wan make ya help me meet wi de agensi about my amnesty pardon. All dis chiefs, dis old men for we land no dey try at all. Na so so moni dem go dey collekt. You na fresh blood like me. Ya got fee push dis pardon well make e happen, abi no be so?”

“Hmm!” hummed Tessy finally understanding Otobo. He had realized that annoying the chiefs and making a scene at the Eternal Ruby would not work in his favour and so he was looking for protection himself.

“Gud, thank you bros. I go kol you, ya hear?” and with that he stepped away from the jeep and turned back to see his men facing him in curiosity.

“I SAY MAKE YA KARRY YA BUCKET KOMOT FOR HEAR! Ya mates dey buy new cars, you stil dey buy Tokunbo. And you go say you be king. Abeg roll!” he growled at Tessy in order to reinforce his tough guy status with his men. And Tessy turned the ignition once more and finally drove away from them while constantly checking the side mirror to make sure that they weren’t following them.

...

After driving for a few meters, Tessy was finally convinced that they were out of danger of Otobo.

"Alright, you guys can relax now! I don't think anyone is following us." he announced.

"Oh thank God!" Michael said emerging from underneath the clothes.

"Thank you very much, king sir! You have really saved our lives. Gerry, how are you doing?" Dayo asked.

"Fine. I can't believe it's all over. Now I can put that man behind me forever." she said relieved.

"Oh, your highness. Thank you so much! You have saved us as I knew you would. I have complete faith in you, your highness." Onos said and Dayo added.

"Oh, yeah? If you had complete faith in him then why have you peed your pants?"

"Wha...no, I didn't..."

"Yeah, you did. Your pants have wet stains."

"Those are from sweating. I was sweating!"

"Sweating In this cold car?"

"Yes, I was..."

"ALRIGHT! Mr Onos, please come and sit beside in the front up here." And Onos practically ran out of the car to sit beside King Tessy.

"Thank you again, your highness. If not for your quick thinking, we wouldn't be here."

"You're welcome. I am glad I could help you."
"Erm...but, how exactly did you manage to get us out?" Onos asked.

"Well, I basically threatened to put a curse on them with my royal charms."

"Do you have royal charms?" Dayo asked from behind.

"No, of course not. Look!" and he opened his mouth to reveal what looked like brown sugar "Chocolate!"

"What?" Michael gasped.

"I don't have royal charms. I'm a Muslim!"

"You are?!" Onos asked.

"Yes, I am. I promised left traditionalism many years ago. That's the main reason why I have many oppositions in my tenure. To many people, I have abandoned my native traditions for a woman, an outsider for that matter."

"Oh, I see." Onos said.

"And why did you do that?" Dayo asked.

"It was a condition for marrying my wife at the time and I don't regret it."

"So, you really didn't curse those guys?" Michael asked smiling.

"No, of course not. I don't know how to do that. But my grandfather had always told me that a royal charms are feared by all, so i faked it." Tessy said and they all laughed.

...

After they had crossed into Delta state and Tessy had driven them to the boundary...

"Well, sadly this is where I have to drop you guys off."

"You have been very kind and generous to us sir. You have given us a lot today." Michael said.

"It's no problem. I did what anyone would have done."

"Not really, sir. You did more than that. You saved our lives by putting yourself in danger when you could have easily walked. Onos was right. You are a great king!" Dayo said and Onos leaned into him.

"Now, who's tripping over him." and they laughed once again.

"So, what's next for you guys?"

"Well, I have to get back to my family in Bayelsa. I have to go pick my wife and wife and take them back home."

"We're really sorry about all the trouble, Onos." Michael said.

"Yeah, we really didn't mean to disrupt your family life like that." Dayo said.

"Are you kidding? This has been amazing! I don't regret anything, not one tiny thing. I've missed you guys." And the three best friends hugged. "Oh, but what about Gerry?"

"Me? Now that I'm finally out of that house and that place I can finally get back to my work. I've been wanting to get back to reporting much sooner but without my family's support, I've been hesitating to go about it alone. Maybe i'll try working for the BBC again but this time from London."

"London? You mean like abroad?"

"Uh huh. Yeah!"

Dayo thought about her leaving and for some reason he panicked. He didn't want her to go. He wanted to spend some time with her as he had hoped that they would get to know each other better.

"No, no you can't go!" he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Yeah, why?" Onos and Michael asked.

He started at their faces, they were waiting for him to give them a good reason. He hadn't expected that. He hadn't even expected to object to her travelling in the first place. But still, he didn't want her to go so he added.

"Well, she...has men searching for her, Otobo and his men for example."

"Which is exactly why she should leave. So that she would be safe."Tessy said Michael aggreed.

"Yeah, but...she would be alone and who says London doesn't have worse people than Otobo. She shouldn't be alone. She's a married woman for God's sake!"

"You know what, you're right?" She said.

"I am!" he said not expecting that.

"Absolutely, I need to go with someone who will keep me safe."

"Oh."

"Yeah, and you're my husband, so you should come with me."

"Wha... you want me to come with you...to London?" he asked surprised.

"Yes!"

"But...what would I be doing in London?"

"Annoying Londoners, of course!" Onos said and Michael laughed.

"Anything you want." she said smiling and Dayo looked to Michael for agreement.

"You should absolutely go!" Michael said.

"Yeah, I'm in agreement." Onos added.

"Okay, then I will." he said.

"But what about you, Mr. Michael? What are you going to do?"

"Oh, I'm going to the aviation school in Kaduna state, sir?"

"Oh! Zaria right?" Tessy asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Then take my card." and he fished for his complementary card from his car and gave it to Michael. "Here! Tell them you're the king's candidate for the region this year and anyone who denies you will have to answer to the entire Edo Kingdom."

"Wow!" Dayo gasped "YOU'RE THE BEST KING IN THE WHOLE WORLD!"

"See? I told you so!" Onos said.

"OH MY GOD!" Michael said and gave his gratitude over and over again. Eventually, they had to part. Onos travelled back to Bayelsa and Tessy went home while Gerry and Dayo followed Michael to the very gates of his aviation school.

...

"Well, you did it man. You brought me here!" Michael said to Dayo.

"We did it together, Mike."

"With a little help from me, right?" Gerry added

"Of course, dear." Dayo said as he hugged his wife and kissed her on the cheek. Michael still couldn't believe that they had grown very fond of each other in the few days that they had met while only about last week, they were both complete strangers until they rushed their marriage so that Michael could get into aviation school.

"Darling, could you give me a minute with Michael alone please?"

"Okay."

"So, how is marriage life treating you?" he asked first.

"It's okay. Actually, it's great. If I had known getting married would make me happy I would have done it sooner." he smiled.

"Yeah, you got really lucky because she's a great person."

"Yeah I know, right?" he said staring at his brand new bride giving a few notes to the Almajiri beggars and looking so amazing in her new armless white traditional Fulani dress that she bought if only a few minutes ago at the market. They both stared at her for a few moments until Dayo became serious and said.

"Michael, I know you don't want to talk about this but...what about Angela? If getting married has taught me anything, it is that you have to marry the right person. And Michael, she is your right person. Don't you think you should at least..."

"Dayo, look. She got engaged. She made her choice."

"Yeah, but she doesn't know how you fee..."

"DAYO! I really can't talk about this right now! I have to focus on achieving this. THIS! Everything counts on this! Right now and I cannot be distracted by anything else. OKAY?"

Dayo fell silent. He really knew the kind of pressure Michael was under but he also knew how sad he was about Angela getting engaged to someone else. But if Michael wasn't ready to talk about it there was nothing he could do. Except hope that, when he was finally ready to talk about it, it will not be too late.

"Okay. Okay, man. I'm sorry for...bringing it up. You're right! You have to focus on this, right now. You're here. Can you believe it?"

"Really, I can't."

"Your dad would be so proud!"
"I know. Thanks man. For everything." and they hugged for the longest time until they both let go and went their separate ways.

...

It was the worst Day of Angela Nwolisa's life. She felt worse than sad, she was depressed. She was engaged to marry a man she never wanted and everyone kept pushing her towards it regardless of her feelings. Her mother was against her. At work they kept talking about it and about how it would help her career to get married to a fellow actor. They practically threatened to ostracize her if she refused. Her friends told her to do it and nobody for once asked her what she wanted. And she had tried several times to reach Michael on the phone to no avail. She tried calling his phone several times it was always switched off. So she left a text message.

"Dear Michael.

You have no idea how much I have missed you. If I had a chance to hear your voice I would gladly leave everything and run to take it.

Do you remember during secondary school how you stood to the principal and that boy for me? All my life, those days are all I have ever thought about. You, the boy who stood up to giants and monsters and defeated them for me.

You had and you always have made me feel so special and important. The value I have placed on myself I learnt if from you. It is through your eyes that I have always looked at myself and believed in myself because it is only through your eyes that I have been made to feel priceless.

I love that about you and I love you. I want to belong to you, you alone and no one else.

But please, Michael. Please come back. The giants and monsters have come back and I cannot fight them alone. I'm not ashamed to tell you that I am not strong enough to fight them all because with you I can just be myself and that is enough.

Come back is all I ask. After this I will never ask anything of you ever again. Please, come back, Michael. Come back to me.

Love,

Angela."

"Ife mi?" she called him in her affectionate term for him meaning 'my love' in Yoruba language.

"Yes, eshet?" King Tessy answered his wife.

"Who is Michael and ...who is Angela?" she asked holding an old Nokia phone.

"Who?" he asked confused.

"I found this phone while taking out my clothes from your car and it seems to belong to someone called Michael and his girlfriend must be this Angela person."

"Oh, yes of course!" he said remembering. "I gave Michael and his friends a lift from Bayelsa to Warri a few days back. He must have misplaced his phone in my car."

"That's a shame! I hope he would have seen this Angela soon."

"No, I doubt it. He went to Zaria and if everything goes well, he might be gone for a long time."

"So, you mean...there's no way he will get this message?"

"I don't think so, eshet."

"Oh, that is so sad." she said and they kept the phone on their table feeling sorry for the estranged couple.

END OF PART TWO

Wow thank God that all the good guys have gotten what they deserved. Thanks for the update and already anticipating for the next part

Thanks for the update and we are waiting for the part 3.

You succeeded in getting me attached to this story with strong emotions.

Please don't let the part 3 take long to start.

I always suffer good people in my stories but I usually give them a happy ending.

Thanks boss

xaviercasmir:
Wow thank God that all the good guys have gotten what they deserved.
Thanks for the update and already anticipating for the next part