Osaze's POV:

They met 8 months ago and he has been living with her for 7 months now, She accommodated him for 7 good months and he was about to ruin her life.

Seeing her having a meltdown made him realize how much damage he had done, he was like a tornado wrecking and destroying everything in his path.

That night as he lay awake in his bed waiting for dawn, Osaze played out all the possible scenarios in his head.

Truth is he would love to have a child with her, he IS in love with Toyin after all and her getting pregnant for him might tie her down to him forever but that's a short cut to her heart.

That is not how he wants her.

She is going to hate him; she made it very clear that she wanted to get married first. She wanted to get it right. She was has worked so hard all her life to achieve her goals and stay on the right track. Living with her he has learned how she puts herself under so much pressure, she never gives herself a break, plus she is her own biggest critic. She was even rubbing off him in a good way because he has started figuring things out for himself.

He knew the last thing she wanted in her life right now is a baby. And if he was being honest with himself they weren't ready for a child, HE wasn't ready to be a father. This will disrupt her life completely and even if she chooses to give it up or God forbid terminate it she would still resent him forever.

He berated himself for being so selfish, He should have used protection, or he should have just kept his hands off her completely. He should have moved out when he started earning small money but he just stayed here taking advantage of her because she let him.

He thought about her parents, her father, how was he going to face her father who likes and trusts him already. That night was the most stressful night of his life.

So when he picked up that test result and saw that it was negative he was super relieved. He almost passed out from the dizziness he experienced as the pressure, fear and anxiety vanished rapidly from him.

She was relieved too, but he was still worried about her. She had a mental breakdown last night and he didn't know what to do. They had not spoken since he tried to talk to her last night and he is not even sure if she has eaten.

He blamed himself, if she had never met him she would probably be with BMW guy by now instead of dealing with shit like this and a looser like him. He was in her way and he was trouble. It was all fun and games until this reality hit him. The reality that he has nothing to offer her at this point in his life. Love is not enough, his love means nothing if he cannot make her happy or take care of her when they're having a crisis.

That same day he started looking for a place, he had overstayed his welcome. She was way too nice to ask him to leave.

He wanted to use the house sale balance to hire a consultant for the new business idea he had come up with but right now moving out is top priority, After paying off the mortgage balance and part of his debts. He had about 16,000 CAD (4.8M) left that is more than enough for anyone to start a modest life in this Lagos.

One week later

"I'm moving out tonight, I got a place in Yaba" He said.

"Okay" She didn't look at him. Her eyes were glued to the TV but she didn't look like she was paying attention. She was staring blankly at the screen.

"Toyin, Thank you so much.... for everything" He said

She nodded flatly.

"I... i am sorry for.... I am so sorry" He really didn't know how to go about this. He did not want to bring back memories of that night.

Silence.

"Just call me if you need to talk, or if you need anything okay?"

Silence. Then she nodded again.

He wanted to hug her so bad but he understood she needed her space to clear her mind. He had read up about 'pregnancy scare' in relationships on the internet and he realised that she must have had a rough time. Reading other women's experience even made him feel worse about himself because too like those women must have considered all sort of unpleasant options that night.

She is a genuinely kind and sweet person, she does not deserve any of this. Seeing her like this broke his heart.

"I am sorry" He said again then squeezed her shoulder softly then left. He had already moved out his work setup earlier with Seyi's car. He had to get a mini flat to crate space for the computers plus he needed an actual office space now because of the Indian streaming app he was back ending for has now gone viral and there was a surge in users so his hands were full. If the app blows up in India alone that is going to be crazy because he owns 5% of the company since he was paid in shares for his work. The app hit 1million downloads yesterday and is currently heading to 2million. He also needed space to focus on the job.

************

Toyin

She was numb. The moment he gave her the result and shook his head she felt a huge cloud of mixed up emotions; relief, shock, confusion, shame, and paranoia. She felt them all simultaneously and then everything just morphed into numbness.

So what happened, why is her period late? Maybe its God punishing her. She decided to bathe and go to the hospital to get a real blood pregnancy test maybe the stick has expired. As she dressed up she started spotting and the period came. It did not come with the usual cramps she felt weird seeing the period. Her relief of not being pregnant changed to a sense of loss. This confused her even more and she started crying again.

Osaze probably thinks she is crazy person at this point. She could not look him in the eye, she couldn't face him again not after all horrible things she said to him that night.

She had mixed feeling when he said he was moving out, she is so used to him being around but she wanted him to go because he reminded her of that night and all the things she said, the options she considered.

Gbenga arrived Lagos the day after Osaze moved out and he distracted her from the entire pregnancy scare trauma she was dealing with.

He stayed at a hotel close to her house. He came to pick her up from work every day and took her out. He was a breath of fresh air. They even went on a double date with his brother and wife. Things were moving fast with Gbenga because they were both ready to settle down and they complimented each other perfectly. He took her shopping, they went on boat cruises she discovered places she has never even heard of before in this same Lagos she has been living in for years.

In the second week he came over to her place during the weekend and she cooked her finest afang soup for him, he loved it so much, he really likes food. They talked and watched movies on Netflix. When he was about to leave he pulled in close to kiss her but she froze. She had an anxiety attack and she quickly moved away from him. He was a little bit stunned but he just smiled like the gentle man he is.

"It's too early right" He ran a hand through his hair looking embarrassed. "I am sorry"

"No, don't apologize" What is wrong with me!

He just smiled thanked her for the food and told her to get plenty rest.

That night she stayed up wondering why she reacted to him like that. Gbenga is attractive, hot and totally her spec. He was obviously into her too as in he was literally courting her why did she curve him like that. Maybe her subconscious mind has not recovered from the pregnancy scare.... Is this a sex phobia? Maybe she should see a doctor and get birth control pill. She swore to abstain till she gets married but if ordinary kiss can make her panic like this then maybe going on the pill would calm her nerves.

She checked her phone and saw a text from Osaze and her heart skipped a beat.

Sugarcane: Hey, how are doing?

A/N: Guys go over to my profile and check out the first chapter of Sophia the first, sequel to this book, (coming out march 27th)

Check out the cover 😜

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