The following week was uneventful; Athira had been busy with work, several meetings to attend on behalf of her father. She tried to distance and separate herself from being lonely; she can't have herself thinking about the letter and the messages that she has been getting from Akanni. Though she had wanted to sort it out at times, she keeps getting stuck; she really isn't good at forgiving people, and that has always been her weakness.

Today has been busy; Athira decided to take some time off to rest in her office, but it was cut short by Da'sean. It was expected because Athira has already gotten used to Da'sean catching her off-guard mostly every minute. Even when she traveled to London for a program, Da'sean has been a serious stalker. Da'sean has been crushing on Athira for a long time; he wanted her for himself. Even during their secondary school days, he has been dominant and chasing other guys off her back. As always, Da'sean came again with his unending proposal which Athira denied again. Athira wasn't ready for marriage; she has really thought about it. All that she always wanted was freedom.

"Why don't I take you out for lunch?" Da'sean proposed. "Why not? You always have a good taste in choosing a nice restaurant," Athira replied. Da'sean smiled mischievously!

It wasn't a long drive; Da'sean had decided to choose a close Restaurant because he wanted to impress Athira with their new menu.

"You didn't choose your normal out-of-town restaurant today?" Athira asked. "Maybe what I am looking for is already close by," Da'sean replied.

He found an empty space and quickly drew the chair for her, looking to impress her every second they spend together.

An hour passed; Athira was busy with her final piece of Chicken while Da'sean sipped his glass of red wine.

"This one that you are sipping wine like a gentleman, hope all is well?" Athira asked.

"You do know that I am a perfect gentleman, only that I don't let my things elude me," Da'sean replied smiling.

"Sure; same here, I don't let my things wander around too," Demi jumped in from nowhere. "Demi," Da'sean shouted.

"What? You have always chosen her over me; what makes her different?" Demi demanded while standing Akimbo.

"This face looks familiar, have we met somewhere before?" Athira chipped in. She had noticed her earlier while dropping out of her car through the transparent glasses.

"Wow! So you had forgotten me so fast; Anyway, I am Demi Bamidele," Demi answered.

Athira got up and hugged her; Demi wasn't really cool with it, but she played along. After several years, she finally met one of the girls that tormented her because of Da'sean. She almost made her leave school, though her memories couldn't bring out the bad deeds that Demi has done to her in the past. She was just happy that she could finally go home. Da'sean already knew that his plans for Athira wouldn't work again the moment Demi showed up.

"Why don't I drop you off at home?" Da'sean offered.

"I have a file to pick up at the office, and I already texted the driver to pick me up," Athira replied.

"That's a good thing, I guess," Demi muttered.

Athira took her leave; she didn't have to wait for long before the driver picked her up. On getting home, she met her parents cuddling in the living room. She was surprised at their newfound love.

"You found yourselves, married yourselves, and only you understand yourselves," Athira muttered!

"*Laughs* you better find yourself a husband," Mrs. Duke replied.

A long day's work deserves a well-deserved shower; Athira took her nightgown and lay back on her bed, she started thinking about herself 'who loves her, who she will love'. After giving much thought about things; she decided to honor Akanni's invitation. Then she texted...

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

Akanni was sleeping when his phone vibrated and woke him up; he picked it up and saw a text from *Miss Duke*, which entails...

*** Call me tomorrow, let's fix a place***

He couldn't believe his eyes; he had been texting her for almost two weeks, and she just replied to him tonight. He quickly went to take a cold shower and checked again; he started checking for clothes to wear for tomorrow and a perfect gift to appreciate her.

To be continued...

What do you think will happen?

*The scripture says: forgive and you will be forgiven; learn to forgive the people who at a time did you wrong, you might be doing yourself a favor too. - Omotayo Victor*

*Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. - The Bible*