~Sarima's POV~

Onome had helped Homa and I during our moving as Somi was at the hospital and had since refused to go back to her one bedroom at Agege, she'd only gone back today to pick up some of her stuff and then return later.

No I'm not complaining, my new bed was wide enough to contain both of us comfortably or if it comes to worse, Onome would use one of the empty spare rooms.

Homa was upstairs in her room, writing, with a do not disturb sign at the door and I was unpacking the boxes of new silverwares and arranging them into the cabinet compartments in the kitchen as Somi had mentioned that we'd be having important visitors soon.

My arts program was coming to an end soon and things had been easier since I moved into this house, this week.

The doorbell began to ring and I dropped the empty boxes I was about trashing out on the marble counter at the centre of the kitchen.

I wasn't expecting that they'd come sooner, or was it Onome? It's probably Onome.

I skipped to the door and opened it. I guessed wrong.

It was Adams now changed from the clothes he'd worn this morning and some people behind him.

I smile at them, holding the door wider to let them in.

"Lemme inform Somi that y'all are here." I say after welcoming them.

"That's not your girl?" The dark tall one who'd initially thrown me a melancholic smile at the door voiced out to Adams.

"That's her twin, William." Lola, who I recognised, explained to him.

"They're identical?" I didn't like the way his gaze lingered on my body, and then settled on my eyes, giving me a roguish smile. "Hi, I'm William." He waved.

"Sarima." My answer came in a monotone as I returned his smile with a brief fake one and headed to the staircase to call Somi.

Once back down, I could feel his gaze following me around. He must have been the Ashawo man Somi had mentioned from her vacation at Calabar.

I went into the kitchen to prepare some refreshments to serve them, bringing out the drinks first and setting it up in a tray. I took it out to the living room, smiling as I sighted Somi already in Lola's arms on one of the long cushions, a small smile on their lips.

I looked at Adams, his eyes were trained on Somi as Lola's husband, the shortest amongst them was filling him in on some random gist.

I envied what my sister and her boyfriend shared, and in a good way. Sometimes I want to convince myself to drop the hard girl act but I always rethink it and decide to use my head.

Like a magnet, I jammed Williams' stare. And he had the guts to let his eyes wander my whole body again and this time rested on my scarred hand which I instinctively hid behind me.

I glared at him, and he grinned, throwing me a wink.

Mtchew

Creep.

Luckily the doorbell rang. Should be Onome.

I went to get it and she indeed was there with a ton of her luggage.

I chuckled, helping her out with some stuff.

"You don kuku move in with me."

"I no wan disguise again."

Her response made me laugh harder.

She was surprised to see the visitors. Switching up to English she greeted everyone as we headed to the stairs.

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~Narrator's POV~

It was becoming increasingly evident that Somi was actively avoiding Adams. She rarely engaged in conversations and seemed to be slowly sinking into a state of depression. She felt suffocated and desperately needed a change of scenery. She hoped the new house would provide a fresh start, an opportunity to rebuild and heal. However, it wasn't having the desired effect on her spirit.

The calls from loved ones, meant to uplift her, had little impact. Even Adam's mother, Mrs. Hassan-Audu, who called regularly to check up on her, provided words of encouragement and comfort. While these gestures of kindness and support mattered, they couldn't erase the memories and pain she was experiencing. Trying to distance herself from Adams when everything around her was connected to him proved to be a challenge. She had become too attached, and there were times when she cried herself to sleep when they didn't communicate or when she failed to respond to his messages. She wondered why she willingly chose to suffer.

She yearned to be away, to gain clarity of thought. In her heart, she knew she loved him deeply, so much so that it caused her pain. Perhaps taking a break would allow her to think more clearly and make the best decision for their future.

All she could focus on was setting Adams free. With this in mind, two weeks after returning from the hospital, she made a reservation for a flight to Port Harcourt. Without his knowledge, she packed a suitcase and a backpack.

Somi arrived at Port Harcourt and was welcomed into Mama's loving embrace as the bolt driver dropped her off in front of her late father's house.

"Welcome, my dear. How was your journey?" Mama greeted her in their native dialect, leading her through the gate.

"Oburoma, It was fine," Somi replied, taking in her surroundings. The place looked different to her, as if renovations were underway.

She turned to give her grandma a questioning look.

And the old woman started explaining. "Na Duncan o." Uncle Duncan was Mama's stepson, who happened to be a politician. "He just come the other day come greet me, last week he bring workers so dem go do the house well."

"Hmm,"Somi sighed in surprise. "We thank God o."

"Abi o." Mama shrugged. "Even the one for village, he dey do am well too."

"All these years wey Uncle Duncan no even send us, na so God take dey touch person mind?" Somi reflected.

Mama just laughed it off.

Once inside the house, her relatives, who were awake and bustling, rushed to greet her with joy.

Somi laughed at their enthusiasm as the children vied to assist her with her suitcase and debated over which room she should stay in.

Wenendah the talentless upcoming artiste who mama constantly complained used to steal her money with his friend Samuel to pay for fruitless studio sessions emerged from the kitchen. He was sweaty and shirtless, holding a bowl of fried plantains.

"Ah, aunty, you're back again," he grinned, approaching her for a hug.

"Look at this old man. Wene, who's your aunty?" she chuckled. He was only 22, a year younger than her.

He chuckled too, as they both joined the group of teenagers and children heading towards the room where her luggage would be placed, and where she would be staying.

As she settled in, Somi began to consider that returning to Port Harcourt might not have been a bad idea. It seemed that being here could greatly contribute to improving her mental well-being.

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"What I don't understand is why she's been ignoring my calls and messages," Adams complained to Sarima. It had been three days since she went silent on him, which was the longest period of time since she started avoiding him. He decided to confront her by going to her house, only to be told that she was in Port Harcourt.

"I honestly don't have a problem with her staying in Port Harcourt. It's just that she never mentioned her plans to me, and I haven't been able to reach her for days," Adams expressed his frustration.

"Please come in," Sarima gestured, pushing the door wider to invite him inside.

He declined with a flick of his wrist.

"Did you guys have an argument?" Sarima inquired.

"No," he sighed. At this point, he decided to share more. "She has just been distant and cold towards me. Barely responding to calls and messages, and outright refusing to see me."

"Ahn ahn," Sarima frowned. "That's very unlike her. By the way, she mentioned wanting to take a break from social media, but we spoke on a phone call this morning."

Adams felt a deeper hurt with this revelation. She had been deliberately ignoring his calls, even as recent as this morning.

Was she tired of him? He feared broaching that topic.

A long silence followed as he tried to process the information.

Sarima felt bad and mentally prepared herself to call her sister and reprimand the stubborn goat after this conversation with Adams.

Why was she hurting this man? She wondered.

Nodding and masking his deep hurt with a polite smile, Adams said, "I need to head to work. Also, please don't mention to her that we had this conversation. You know your sister, it would only upset her further." He seemed like he wanted to say more but paused. "Thank you." He turned around and walked towards his waiting car.

"Wait!" Sarima stepped down from the doorway. "You can go meet her there. You guys need to talk. Avoiding the issue and acting like nothing is wrong is not the right approach. I don't know, should I send you the address?" She paused, gauging his reaction.

He initially wanted to ask for the address but didn't want to come across as an obsessed creep who wouldn't give a girl space, especially when she didn't want to speak with him.

He nodded. "Thank you!"

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Somi was on her way to see her closest friend from secondary school who was now studying at Uniport and stayed at an apartment off campus at Alakahia.

She'd missed the traffic-free road of Port Harcourt as you could rarely see roads this free in Lagos, especially at the mainland and her mind was already accustomed to the chaos.

She blocked her ears with airpods which were blasting some good melodies so she wouldn't have to listen in on the tales the bolt driver was trying to impress her with. When she got to the location Favour had told her to input into the map, she paid the driver politely declining his request to talk later.

She called Favour to let her know that she had arrived outside the gate. Standing awkwardly at the gate and pretending not to notice the long stares from some people, any regular person would have felt self-conscious or wondered if there was something wrong with their appearance. However, Somi was used to receiving these stares, especially in new places where people were not familiar with her or had not yet grown accustomed to seeing her. Moreover, she wasn't dressed provocatively; she wore a black floor-length bodycon gown with sleeves that reached her wrists, it only accentuated her curves and showcased her perfectly shaped body.

The sound of the gate swinging open caught her attention, and she looked up from her phone. "Oh my God!" Favour screamed and enveloped her longtime friend in a tight hug. "Jesus Somi, look at you!" she exclaimed after releasing her from the embrace.

Slightly embarrassed by the outburst, Somi chuckled. Favour had not changed one bit from being the loud girl that Somi remembered. "You nko?" Somi laughed, taking in Favour's appearance. The thin girl from their secondary school days had suddenly become curvaceous. "What have you been eating?"

"Come inside first, let me kill you with gist." Favour dragged her into the compound. "Ahn ahn, see bumbum nau."

Somi slapped her hands off her ass as Favour kept touching her. "This girl, stop harassing me abeg." She chuckled.

"How's our man nau?" Favour was asking about Adams.

"He's fine." Somi responded with a smile as she walked past the loud generators at the student lodge.

"As you no wan gree introduce me to en brothers or friends. Na only you wan dey hot." Favour teased. "My guyyy, I'm sorry for not showing up for your mom's burial though." Somi waved it off as Favour had explained already that she had to write an exam that day and on another course she'd also carried over.

"You're insufferable," Somi laughed, following her voluptuous friend up the staircase and into her room.

The room resembled a typical rich student's lodge, with a small plasma TV on the wall, a fridge beside the bed, and an AC with blue lights overhead. Some of Favour's neighbours were in the room, supposedly trying to charge their phones, but their eyes were fixed on Somi as she entered.

"Wetin? Una never see fine person before?" Favour voiced out as she too noticed their stare made her friend uncomfortable. "I get visitor o." She kindly reminded them to leave.

"Agbero." Somi laughed, as they all exited the room and she settled into the neatly made bed.