Last last she let Gbenga go O! She was fooling herself thinking she could get into one of those loveless relationships or marriages. She couldn't do it! Not after experiencing that wild, pure and intense bond with Osaze.

She started asking herself why she was even so obsessed with this marriage of a thing.

She realized that everything she had done with her life, her achievements, her goals, her aspirations etc. was for society. She wanted to conform; she wanted the highest grades, the best job, the best husband all so she could impress other people. She never did anything for HERSELF.

She started coming to terms with how shallow it was that she cared way too much about other people's opinion of her.

Her mental breakdown during the 'pregnancy scare' was, mainly hinged on her fear of being judged for having a child out of wedlock rather than the actual fear of being unprepared.

Because, truth be told she could singlehandedly provide and care for a baby; her coworkers had big families, their kids went to the most expensive schools in Lagos and lived comfortably. She had no reason to freak out like that even if Osaze was not ready she could have handled raising a baby naw.

How did she even conclude that she wasn't ready? What was her reason for assuming she was not ready? No one is ever ready for a baby; no one has experience with it beforehand.

If market women on the streets are having kids and still going to the market to earn living, hawking goods on their heads, baby on their backs, what was her excuse.

Her company gives four months paid maternity leave, her job comes with a full health insurance coverage for herself, a spouse and up to four kids and she can afford nannies or the best day care centers on her own even without a husband. So what was she even afraid of?

Osaze is an amazing guy and she knew deep down that he would be a remarkable father. He has nieces that he always talked about and he is very warm, kind and smart. He would have been an amazing father, married to her or not.

But no, she was so blinded by her fixation on having a perfect wedding or being a Mrs. ASAP. She wanted to conform so bad she couldn't see the amazing man right in front of her, A man she really likes, She was so happy with him around.

She said some horrible things to him that night and she knew he was not going to forget or even forgive her, he would never look at her the same way he used to. She didn't even bother calling him.

Though she wished he would call her or even send her one of those his short texts to check up on her.

"Mumu Stop crying" She muttered as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

As the weeks passed, she got better, she worked on herself. She realigned her goals and purpose in life. She shed all that marriage pressure, and she tried to forget about him as well.

She even started taking yoga classes and joined a travel club.

One day like that she was at work when Farrah sent her a link on watsapp.

Farrah: See your friend o!  <link>

It was a link to a Forbes article, one of those lists of 'most promising African Tech entrepreneurs'. He was one of the people on the list. They listed all his degrees, talked about his first startup, then this new Indian company he is a part of.

She didn't know he was the Chief Technical Officer, wow! They wrote something about his exceptional coding skills and how he builds programs and softwares from scratch. Her heart swelled with so much pride just reading that.

See how they were talking about him like one demigod, the same Osaze that she used to play with here o. She was happy for him, he deserves it. He worked his ass off for it.

She was not going to be one of those bitter witchy exes that feel bad when the ex becomes successful after leaving.... Wait. He is not even her ex. He was not her boyfriend. They were just friends.

She googled his name in news and found a lot of articles about him, some of them were in hindi, it was all about the Indian app, there were some recent pictures of him and the founder. He looked handsome as usual. He had grown fuller beards or maybe he didn't have time to shave. lol. 

She was glad she did God's work by preventing him from going back to do one yeye PhD when he has so much talent for creating stuff.

She was actually hoping he would create something for the naija market but in fact, screw this country! He had already tried and his fellow Nigerians ran him down, if it is India that he finds his success in then so be it.

Even her sef, was tired of the country and was planning to take a break from it all;

Her weeks of self-reflection helped her realize that there are so many routes to happiness and self-fulfillment.

She wanted to be like Osaze, she wanted to take risks, live free, experience new things and really live life instead of living under pressure and chasing goals, goals she didn't even really care about.

You see, Osaze quit his job and travelled round the world this is why he is so at peace with himself. This is why he is so optimal at everything he touches.

She had no plans of quitting her job o. She is a Nigerian citizen and naija does not have welfare for unemployed people. Hunger will literally kill her if she tries it. Moreover, she loves her job. She loves the flexibility, the excitement that comes with every new project and the PAY of course.

However, she wanted to try living in different cities, experience different cultures, try new things, learn new hobbies, find herself, her true self. Therefore, she applied for a secondment to the UAE division of her Company in Abu Dhabi.

Going to the UAE for 2 years will be her starting point to touring the world, The UAE transfer was very easy to get because it was a new project and they were very short-staffed and they need more gender diversity. From UAE she would go for the South American openings, the Company has rigs in Venezuela and Brazil too.

Her mother was totally against it but her father just respected her decision.

Even Sofi thought she was crazy for moving to a country to live alone without any friends or relative.

One Saturday evening on her way back from the salon, she was busy dreaming about her Abu Dhabi adventures when she received a strange call from a woman.

"Hello, is this Toyin?" The woman asked

"Yes?" She answered

"My name is Ann, I am from Osaze, we need your help with something very urgent where can I meet you?" The woman said.

Her heart skipped the moment she heard his name so she pulled over her car, she noticed her hands were shaking too. She was shocked by her reaction because to the best of her knowledge, she is over him and it has been months since he left.

The woman met her at home within an hour of the call. The woman looked like she was in her 40s, her outfit was casual but she still appeared very polished and professional.

The woman introduced herself as his Business consultant and Lawyer. Okay.

Apparently, he registered a new Company months back with her, listed as the second  shareholder and Director.

Toyin shook her head said she didn't know anything about it. Suspecting the woman of being a scammer.

The Lawyer explained that she was in fact the one who helped him incorporate the Company and when incorporating a company there must be at least two shareholders/Directors so he must have added her because he didn't have any relative or close friend in Nigeria at the time.

She then remembered it was one of those times when she was on the rig, he had asked her so send him a scanned copy of her international passport, he did tell her about it. She even joked with him and said hope he was not planning to sell her. However, she trusted him so she gave him anyway.

He incorporated the Company during that hackathon. She collected the documents from the Lawyer and browsed through it quickly. She saw her name listed there indeed and he allocated 40% percent of the shares to her. Imagine this guy, is he crazy or just dumb. Even if he had to put someone else there, he could have done 1%. Is this how he trusts people? No wonder his former business partners swindled him.

She assumed the Lawyer came to adjust the documents as per his eyes are clear now but she was surprised by the next thing the woman said;

"So we are trying to open bank accounts and one of the requirements for corporate bank account is, all Directors must sign the account opening form. She handed her an Access bank form already flipped opened to the part where she needed to sign. She saw that he had signed the first parts.

"Osaze is in town?" She asked looking very confused. Why didn't he call her himself.

"He came in last week but he flew back to India yesterday" The Lady was surprised she was asking her about his whereabouts, as if she expected her to know this.

She frowned. The whole thing just seemed strange to her. Why didn't he call her if he was in Lagos, why is she signing the forms when he could have just removed her name from the Company papers.

Is he in a serious relationship now? She thought to herself. Maybe his babe would be mad if he comes to see her that's why he sent the Lawyer. Her heart broke just thinking about these likelihoods.

She wanted to ask if she could speak to him first but her phone rang and it was Sofi

"Sofi, how far"

"Are u free?" Sofi's voice was shaking, she was crying

"Yes, what's wrong, are u crying?" 

"can u come pick me up?" Sofi sobbed.

"What is going on, where are you?" 

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