HIM

c h a p t e r 28: Not Special

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Beverly

The living room door opens and in comes Zayyad with two white fancy bags in the grip of his left hand, a sign that he bought me a dress. I had frustratedly texted him when I returned from campus, searched my whole closet and didn't find anything that was worth wearing in the presence of the press, politicians, and top, important people of the country... and look how fast he came through for me.

I look at the wall clock that rests right above the television, and it shows 5:05 pm. It was nearly two hours to the function and running late wouldn't be a good thing.

"Hey," I smile, standing up from the couch, watching him walk nearer to me.

"Here, I got your dress. The function is in less than two hours, we need to get ready now," He tells me, handing me the white fancy bag.

I take the bag, "My presence isn't that important there, I can take how much time I want yunno, I'll only hurry when I-" No way! My eyes almost fall out of the socket when I see the name imprinted on the shopping bags he just handed me, "Maison de luxe? No way!" I scream, dropping the bags on the couch before hugging him, I feel him stiffen before relaxing and chuckling.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you..." I chant, and all he does is chuckle deeper.

"You haven't even seen what's in the bag." He tells me when I let him go, a grin plastered on his face as his eyes twinkle with admiration. I don't know for what. "Where's Seun?" He asks me.

"He's asleep," I hurriedly answer, as I sit on the couch and take one of the bags, open it up, dip my hand into it and fish out a black velvet box. What's in here? I puzzle.

I look away from the box and look at him, he has a smile on his face. Did he get me a box of jewellery too?

My attention goes back to the box that was pleading for me to open it, my heart starts to race and I hastily open it, and when my eyes land on the necklace and pair of earrings resting beside it, I gasp in astonishment, my left hand swinging to my mouth.

Maison De Luxe which means House Of Luxury in English, is an expensive boutique that sold a combination of all the top designers in the world, from Balenciaga to Micheal Kors to Versace to Gucci to Victoria Secret; all the designer you could think of...all under the roof of one big, four storey villa owned by one Mrs. Yewande Ademola, words said she was a pimp to politicians and only used Maison De Luxe for a cover-up. People and how they bad-mouthed successful people baffled me and the fact that fake thirsty news spread faster than original news, was crazy. Most people derived joy when they heard about bad things happening to people, but whether she was a pimp or not, it didn't change the fact that Maison De Luxe was the most expensive shopping centre in Africa and a lot of people relied on it, and only it, for original designers in Nigeria.

Back to reality, I am holding an emerald necklace in my hands, a precious stone that was rarer and often more expensive than a diamond. This particular piece had diamond droplets attached to it and when I tell you I'd never seen real precious stones before, I mean, never. This is the most expensive thing I'd ever held in my hands.

I can't seem to keep my mouth closed, I'm bewildered as to why he'll get something this expensive for me. "Do you like it?" He asks me, plopping on the armchair next to the chaise lounge I'm sitting on.

"I love it. God! I can't express how much I love it. I've never gotten anything this expensive, why would you buy something this expensive just for one day? I hope someone doesn't try to cut my neck off today."

He laughs. "That's not enough to draw attention, that's a very simple one."

I scoff. "Simple my ass"

"Your ass isn't a simple one," Before my brain can register what he just said, he nudges his head in the direction of the other bag. "Open it:"

"Oh yeah," I grin, curiosity accompanied with excitement, running over me. "I wouldn't be surprised if it's a dress made out of a unicorn's skin." I joke and he chuckles.

"No, no, it's not."

I dip my hand in the bag and I pull out a black dress.

Standing up from the sofa, I hold the dress high up in the air, so I can see the full length and design. It's a regular black dress with a mermaid pattern and a deep uniquely designed V neck, I turn it around and it's backless. "This is beautiful... and daring," I mutter. There's a way the dress glitters, and also a way it calls me to put it on. I imagine myself in it and my insides jump with happiness.

"Thank you so much, Zayyad."

"I did good, right?"

"You did awesome! Not gonna lie, I was skeptical about trusting you with it, but I had faith."

He laughs, "I'm a pro at this. "

He's a pro at this?

"Really?" I sarcastically say, raising my brows.

"Yeah, my exes got the best dresses from me." The smile on my face wipes off, and I find my insides breaking.

Haba, somebody cannot have exes again?

It's not about the exes, no, no... it's about the gesture. It's not special anymore. What do you mean it's not special? Was it meant to be special? My subconscious asks. I'm about to go into a proper overthinking mode when his voice draws me back to the present. "You're the first one I've gotten a necklace for, aside from my mom and sisters," His tone comes out like he is reassuring me of something, and I nod. Is that supposed to make me feel good? "Come on, go to your room and get ready, I'm gonna go wake Seun up and get ready too."

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Hey guys, I missed you, I always miss you guys. Short chapter? I know. I'll be updating tomorrow, so don't worry. And although I can't regularly update every day, I'm recommending three mind-blowing authors and their books, so whilst 𝐻𝐼𝑀 isn't updated, you can keep yourself busy with them.

I'll be challenging three writers to do this too, I made it up last minute and I think it'll make promotion to books people do not know about yet, or haven't read or haven't even discovered.

THREE WATTNAIJA (Nigerian themed) BOOKS you should be reading on wattpad: 

I. When Golden Souls Collide by dheenmah : If you do not know about this book, I'll actually cry because you're missing out on a whole lot of amazingness [i don't think that's a word, but we'll go with it] This book is one of my favourites and it's GOOD! One of the best Nigerian books to be on wattpad. Join Kam and Asa on their roller coaster ride, you might even cry, but go on, add WGSC to your reading list. The whole golden series!

II. The Things We Do by Donaldprince : Another one! This one is good too. I don't even know what to say about it because it's GOOD. This book is amazing and idk the words to describe it. It's not your typical stereotypical book, it comes with a twist and it just pulls you in, little by little. 

III. Too Many Broken Things by lovetori_xo : If you're not reading this book, what are you doing?? If you also haven't read Those Little Things by the same author... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! How do you not know Giwa Falade yet?

So, guys these are my favourite three books in no particular order and I nominate:  dheenmah lovetori_xo Donaldprince , feature your favourite books on any book of yours here on wattpad and let your readers discover cool books like yours.