Did you miss the previous episode? Catch up HERE
CHAPTER SEVEN
Sade
After the main meal, we both dug into the soft chocolate cake.
“You remembered,” I cooed.
“Of course I do,” Tunde replied. “Chocolate has been your favourite since forever?” He winked and I erupted in laughter.
“I’d love to keep doing that.” He blurted.
“What?” I asked as I noticed he looked serious.
“Making you laugh.”
I froze.
What is he saying? Lord, could this be true? My heart had been engaged in a little dance when he said he wasn’t in a relationship and was still searching for the one. But, could I dare to hope?
I felt his hands enclose mine. I shuddered as I felt the warmth seep through his palm.
“Sade, give us a chance. Please.”
My heart turned to mush. “Tunde…”
“Please Sade,” he shut his eyes and reopened them swiftly. “Please…. don’t say no…again.”
Lord, thank You. If anyone had told me even a week ago, that I’d have another chance with Tunde, I’d have laughed in disbelief. But, look what God has done and I’d be a fool to refuse it.
I looked into his eyes and saw it again. All the promises of love with a dash of hope and a sprinkle of excitement. I felt all the tingles and beyond the tingles, I felt something else. Something deeper. Something stronger. I felt love.
“Tunde,” I called softly. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for saying no four years back. I’m sorry for breaking your heart.”
A lone tear dropped from my eyes and before I could blink, he pulled out his pocket square and used it to dab the single tear softly.
Then he smiled. “You look so beautiful tonight Sade. Don’t ruin your makeup.”
“I’m sorry Tunde.”
“Don’t apologize Sade. You did what you thought was best.”
“No,” I shook my head. “I was young and foolish. When you started to talk about marriage and kids, I panicked. I got scared and I decided to throw it all away. I thought I still had my whole life ahead of me.”
I noticed Tunde was rubbing circles on my palm with his thumb. The gesture was oddly, comforting. “And now?” He asked.
“Now,” I breathed deeply. “Now, I realize it’s all fake. What enjoyment can one get out of life if it’s not spent with loved ones?”
I watched him smile and it hit me afresh how much in love I was.
“I love you Sade,” he whispered. “Since the first day I saw you at Unilag. You stole my heart and made away with it. That heart has never returned not even when I wanted it to.”
“I love you too Tunde,” I breathed. “But, I have questions.”
“Shoot.”
“You are in Abuja. I’m in Lagos. How can we handle a relationship?”
“Leave that to me. I’ll visit as often as I can. My office has a branch here. When it’s time for a certain marital junction,” he winked at me. “You’ll come over and since your work is remote, it won’t really be affected.”
It seemed he had given a lot of thought to this. I nodded, elated that he was thinking marriage again. Funny how the idea of marriage that made me say no to Tunde four years ago now got me excited.
“Do you want to take a walk?” He asked, eyes glistening.
“Yes, I’d like that.”
Tunde signalled the waiter and took care of the bill. Then, he stood up and held out his hand, “Shall we, my lady?”
I chuckled. “Yes, we shall.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Tunde
It was amazing what a difference three weeks can make. When I resumed at my office in Abuja after the conference in Lagos, I was practically glowing. Yemi had to ask what was going on.
My angel had just returned to my life. What did they expect? Moping? No way! I logged out of Zoom and quickly placed a WhatsApp video call to my angel. She picked instantly. I smiled broadly as her face came on.
“My angel.”
“Mr. Handsome,” she smiled. “Ah ah…I thought you had a Zoom conference. Why are you calling me now?”
“Leave those people joor. Leave conference. I want to have a personal conference with you.” I winked.
I took pleasure in hearing her burst into laughter. “Tunde! That’s so cheesy.”
“I know. But, if it makes you laugh then, cheesy is my middle name.”
“Awww…such a romantic,” she cooed.
“You know, I like this your remote work,” I continued.
“Why?” Sade interjected.
“I can call you whenever I want and I’m almost always sure you’ll be on hand to pick up.”
“That’s not the case all the time,” she replied. “Sometimes, I’m really busy and I can’t take calls. I just pick because the love of my life is on the line.”
“Say that again,” I responded in a mock-command.
“The love of my life?”
“So, I’m the love of your life?”
She smiled. “Do you even need to ask?”
“No, I don’t,” I leaned forward and shut my eyes. “No, I don’t need to ask. I love you my angel.”
“I love you too Tunde,” she whispered.
I laughed and opened my eyes. “Let me get back to the conference. There was actually a 15 minute recess. See you later angel.”
“See you later hon.”
She had no idea how soon that would be. Not with the plan I had in store. My ‘Thank God it’s Friday’ was about to become a lot more interesting. I finished up with my session 30 minutes later and left the office to board a flight to Lagos.
At 4pm, Sade opened her door and let out a squeal.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming!” She screamed as she jumped into my arms.
“I didn’t want to wait too long to see my angel. I came straight from the office.” I let the hug linger a bit. God, I missed this woman. “Do you have anything casual you can wear to the beach? I’ll stop over at Eldad’s Men Wears and get something for myself. Let’s go to the beach.”
“Okay. Let me dress up and drop a note for Ella. I’ll be right back. Come on in,” she said hurriedly and disappeared into her bedroom.
In quarter of an hour, we were on our way to Elegushi Beach. We ran on the sandy beach and played in the water a bit. I took delight in watching my angel smile. At about 7pm, we were still at the beach, sprawled out on a mat Sade had taken at the last minute.
“Doesn’t your position as CEO restrict you from coming to public places like this?” She questioned.
“I’m not that popular yet. Not like Dangote or Elumelu. But, I will be.”
“I’m certain you will hon. You definitely will.”
I turned to her. “And when I do, I’ll want you to be by my side, cheering me on. I also promise to be by your side when you receive your accolades. Sade mì, it will give me great joy to put smiles on your face at every turn.”
“Tunde, what are you saying?” She looked at me intently.
I stood up from the mat only to go down on one knee.
Sade sat up. “Oh my God. Tunde!”
“Sade, my angel. Four years ago, I asked you to marry me. You said no. My heart was broken. I wanted to hate you but I couldn’t. The more I tried, the more I fell hopelessly in love with you. God has given me another chance and I’m not going to mess it up.” I pulled out the box from the pocket of my shorts.
Sade gasped. “Oh Tunde.”
I bowed my head as I opened the box and held it out to her. “Share my life with me Sade. Share my dreams and aspirations. Share my joys and my tears. Share everything with me. I need you by my side. I…”
“Yes.”
“What?” I raised my head.
“Yes, I’ll marry you. I say yes, Tunde.”
I placed the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit.
“Oh Sade,” I whispered as I drew her into my arms. “Oh my angel.”
Thank You Lord Jesus. Thanks for another chance at love. THE END
Thank you for following this beautiful series.😍
[…] When Sade stepped out of her compound, I could have sworn that my heart stopped beating. I don’t know how I managed to stay calm and collected.Seated inside Eko Sky Restaurant, I smiled as I perused the menu. I knew what I wanted to order but I took advantage of the opportunity to study Sade’s face up close without being caught. She was too busy trying to pick out what she wanted to eat. I smiled again as I saw the folds between her eyebrows. That was her thinking look.She always looked so good in white and somehow ethereal. So angelic. And that makeup…boy oh boy. She looked up and caught me staring.She smiled at me and my heart clutched tighter. That smile lit up my world.“Hey, have you decided yet?” She asked.“Uh huh. You?”“No,” she shook her head. “It’s all too confusing. How about I have whatever you are having?”“Really?” I raised an eyebrow.“Of course. I trust you,” she replied.I trust you. She had no idea what those words meant to me. Four years ago, she had, more or less, told me the exact opposite. She didn’t trust me. She didn’t trust us. She didn’t trust our future. Today, it was a different story. I placed my hands over hers on the table.“Perhaps from dinner, we can take that trust to other areas.”She blushed. “Perhaps.”I signalled to the waiter and placed our order.“So, social media management?” I smiled. “Those days in Unilag when you were slugging it out in Economics, no one would’ve thought you’d venture into social media stuff. How’d you do it?”She smiled and her eyes seemed to brighten.“Yeah, you know about my writing, right?”“Of course, I remember your write-ups then and those little plays. I always knew you’d be a great writer.”“Thank you Tunde.”“Anytime.”“Okay. So, after NYSC, there was no job anywhere.”I laughed. “Tell me about it. This is Nigeria my dear.”“Exactly,” She joined in the laughter. “So, I started content writing online. Later on, I focused on scriptwriting. One day, someone reached out to me on IG. She said she loved my content on social media and offered me a token to help manage hers. I agreed and that’s how I started. I took about three courses in social media management. Now, I manage for four firms and two individuals.”“Wow. That’s impressive,” I replied. “You are doing really well for yourself and I’m sure Mum must be proud of you.”She smiled. “She is.”“How often do you see them?” I recalled that her parents stayed in Epe with her two younger sisters. She had an elder brother too. I had only seen her Mum once.“I go there once in a month. Twice sometimes.”“How about Bankole?”“He’s married.”I raised my eyebrows. “Really?”“Yes. Last year. Just after the COVID-19 lockdown. In fact, I’m now a happy aunt to a wonderful baby boy.”“Interesting,” I replied as our first course arrived.I watched Sade devour the chicken pepper soup with relish. “God, I’ve missed this,” I muttered.I recalled my prayer last night and how I decided after praying that I’d put out a fleece. I decided not to tell her to dress formally. I told God that if she dressed formally, I’d know I had been given another chance with her. If she didn’t, we’d go somewhere casual but I won’t initiate a relationship.“So, how about you?” She spoke up.“Mmm?”‘You finally achieved your dream of being a CEO. How did that happen?”I wiped my mouth with a serviette first before replying. “Well, I left Lagos for Abuja. I got a job with Access Bank. I stayed there for a year before joining Deloitte. I opened Tap Tunez Consult two years ago. I was featured in the Africa Magic show ’30 under 30 CEOs last year’.”“Wow. I’m so proud of you.” She had no idea how much that sounded like music to my ears. I had received several accolades and heard several people sing of my achievements. But only few really mattered. Those of my parents and that of the only woman I had every loved. Sade.“Thank you SEA,” I smiled as her face broke out in a smile.“You are welcome TAP.”I laughed. “Oh God, I miss those days at Akoka. You were this sweet, innocent girl who didn’t want her parents to know she had a boyfriend. In a way you still are, sweet, innocent and beautiful.” I could’ve sworn she blushed. If not for dark skins…“What about your other dream?” She asked quietly.“What other dream?” I raised an eyebrow.“Beautiful wife? Three kids?” She played around with her food.I smiled. “Still working on that?”She looked up, surprised. “No girlfriend? Fiancee?”I looked into her eyes. “Still. Looking for the one. What about you? Are you in a relationship?”“No.”“What?” I exclaimed. “You mean to tell me that there are no guys beating down the door? Nah, I don’t believe you. Not with all this beauty.” She blushed again.“Not at the moment. My last relationship ended four months ago. Like you, I’m still waiting for the one.”She looked at me again and my heart leaped. Read the next episode: Another Chance To Love You (Episode 4) […]
Awesome, as expected.
It’s a great story.
God bless you, Ma’am Hannah. ❤️
Blessings to you too, Ma’am Temi. ❤️
[…] your copy on Scribd. Start with the free trial HERE. Did you miss the just concluded blog series, Another Chance to love you? Catch up HERE Happy new […]