BECAUSE I DO LOVE YOU (His Personal Assistant)

use, drenched in sweat, loo

ets of Lagos, with her very tight shoes which were not

his eyes off the T.V, and switching it

e I'm going to die," She said a

about that. So, any

er head in

. You're only just coming back at almost 6'0clock in the e

have vacancies, some will say they don't need someone who studied Creative writing. Some will offer just

brother?" Her mother asked, startling her

you talking about? I'm not tea

my son. Don't you know he's still a c

child, I'll be fiftee

gs because you'll be turning fi

dn't mean it

niversity? It's better to be able to provide for your family even without having a degree, than to have one and still be

, much to the point of making her heart ache badly. She couldn't say a

he Bible says: 'The truth shall set you free.' I know the truth is bitter a

decided it was time to go i

g from the sofa and proceeded

to buy good deodorants and body spray that'll keep you fresh for the whole day and m

iding that she couldn't take it anymore, turned around, looking

done to you?" Bukunmi as

hands dramatically and

ng out with a first class degree from the university? Is it? I don't see myself doing anything other than writi

me, Mami. Let me know what you think. You keep comparing me to my mates, making it seem like I'm lazy and comfortable with being jobless and still depending on

that they have either rich parents or connections. Mami, are their parents not your mates? Why are you not rich? Why do

ight people instead of Mummy Agnes and Aunty Ezinne, you wouldn't have needed to borrow mone

min stood up abruptly with his mou

n seeing the confusion wri

en I decided to get a job against my will, but do I get any credit for doing that? Of course not! You'r

ut Bukunmi was quick enough to hold her hand and

ll simply because I've not been able to get a good job. How can you then call yourself my mother? Mothers do not act this way. I'll get a job, I promise you that, but don't act nicely to me when I fin

" Her mother questioned no one in particular,

so much from you, she ought to have said all these things a long time ago. Aren't w

eep quiet)!" His

ter," Benjamin said and walked out of t

*

tight shoes, pulled off her wig and flung it to the wooden chair in front of her dressing table and proceeded

to tolerate her actions, but she had crossed the line. She knew she had done the right thing by revealing how

twist matters upside down in her favour, and although Alhaja Pelumi had lost her one of her legs due to the amputation she had to un

of a knock on her do

e," Benjamin's

do you want?

o make sure you'

thin, in the midst of all her mother's troubles. It was relieving knowing you had someone who had your back, unlike Granny wh

id, depicting harshness in her voi

way. I'm not the one who of

sn't doing the right thing by transferri

lly, it is," She sai

the food into your room, cause I'm sure she'll be unwilling to

k I did the right thing by ta

ne make you think otherwise. Mami g

d. "You t

've been hoping for, don't forget to buy me a smartphon

with so much inside without necessarily getting support or encouragemen

?" He called

wiped her tears with

n along then,

for being such a sweetheart, but I st

gs. They're freaking cheesy. Also, if you tell anyone I wa

n years ago, she had thought of Benjamin as an annoying little

father's death because her mother was too busy thinking about how soon she had become a widow and

ed his 5'7 sister, a fair skin with pink lips contrasted to her dark skin and bloody red l

ed up to her and was hell bent on annoying the life out of her, he was the only one who really cared about her...and she knew

e her chest and stared at herself in the mirror. She noticed that she had

e, majorly because she lacked good cosmetic products and enough rest. Most times, she couldn't s

her not bringing money to the table, but eating more than everyone else, which of course, was a li

pathetic and malnourished she looked, then grabbed her pho

g up a new playlist to listen to while having her

to browse and operate on all her social media platforms. She s

e she couldn't afford to buy data. She lived off her neighbour's WiFi, but ever

and proceeded to check up what had been going on w

n popped up on her phone screen from a platform she

online friend for the past eleven years had

H

en online. Hop

g you, sure

nd on completing

. Wish you could

er, she had started writing on that platform. It was an avenue

she was a tad close to giving up, when one day, she saw a comment fr

ing your book from the beginning to the end. Don'

ful to the sender whose username was just one letter, "T", t

everything about her and told him all the things that bothered her, and he was always th

e remained her favourite. He had been there for her when no one was, and gave her reaso

n offline," She typ

ing with her fingers and

ll about parties and lavish events he attended. He had attended one of the be

ria to study at a University in Chicago, and during that peri

d ask him all about Chicago. At a point, he had stopped coming online and as days rolled into weeks and weeks into years, she had forgotten a

He had told her he was back from studying Business Administra

line friend and so, their friendship began again. He sent her money at times when she complained about bein

lways worried about how he knew her exact location and feared he was a stalker, but

e was always there for her, and soon stopped worrying about him

ew message from "T" popp

You?" She immed

. What's the issue with you thou

l, even if it's not writing related. Sa

sent her a new message, but she felt

, she couldn't tell if it was

oying. Guess it has something to do wit

Heights as she knew what they were capable of. She had tasted what they could do to a person

nterested, but her fingers s

ch is t

ge, because what was the point of asking whe

h," He respond

d naira every month would go a long way in changing her life for the better. She'd be able to pay off her uncle in just two m

e swayed by money. Her eyes drifted to her father's photograph resting

meday. What if this was fate's plan all along? She knew she hadn't gotten th

ing Fam Heights, she was going to know everything about them with time and the informat

he money," She wh

said, not loudly, but her

a singular message

s the a