What if Cinderella didn't want prince charming?
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When Emily Odita was forced to visit her father and his new family in Lagos, she thought things couldn't get any worse until sh...
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EMILY'S POV
A week rolled into a month then two and three. I was occupied with work, my family life and finding a place of my own to live. I wasn’t so eager to move out of my father’s house, wanting to leave that until next year, then I would have had a better grip on everything around me, but with Rose and my dad’s wedding anniversary in three weeks, I was more determined to get out of there as fast as possible.
They were planning on hosting a “small” dinner party, just for friends and family. I was going to exclude myself from the list of family members by not showing up or having a reason to show up that night. If I was living there, then I’d have no excuse for not showing up.
The Zeus project and partnering with Primer Housing was a success. The estate was complete and open to tenants. In all that, Irvin was off the grid. After our dinner three months ago we met at the Primer Housing estate the next Monday where the installation of Zeus was ongoing. We had beautiful conversations as always, nothing seemed out of place and I expected that we would see each other again after that, but I was wrong. Irvin disappeared the next day.
His parents confirmed he was out of the country, on a business trip. I wasn’t surprised with that, it was expected for someone in his line of business. I thought he’d forgotten to tell me about it the day before and expected a call or message from him but got nothing. The next day was the same, I waited in vain. A week after and I was convinced that he wasn’t going to call me or reach out to me.
It hurt and every time I thought about it, I couldn’t understand why. We weren’t exactly friends, I would describe our relationship as ‘acquaintances.’
An acquaintance you wanted to kiss? My mind reasoned and I pushed the thought away.
Every time memories of that night came to mind, I cringed. Everything in me wanted to kiss him, and if he hadn’t pulled away like he did, I would have kissed him.
My brain began to play tricks on me, making me believe that Irvin wasn’t interested in me anymore, and that was why he hadn’t reached out to me since. Did I do something wrong? Was it because of what happened on Friday?
I groaned and closed the lid of my laptop. I was done with my work for today but the thought of going home wasn’t appealing.
My phone rang and I sharply looked at it. It was the Primer Housing staff that was calling. I needed an apartment to stay and Primer Housing was my next best option. I didn’t want to stay in the new estate, for reasons relating to Irvin. The other houses that were free, either the locations weren’t favorable for me or I just didn’t like the house. The thought of contacting a new agent came to mind but I could only do that if I didn’t want to remain in good terms with Primer Housing. My dad’s words, not mine.
“Madam, good afternoon ma.” Seyi, the agent greeted.
“Good afternoon, please tell me you have something.” I began to pack my bags, ready to leave the office.
