“This has to stop.”“Explanation, please,” Ayo said in a deceptively soft voice.He had watched her pace to and fro since they entered her bedroom.The fact that the gesture resembled what her manager was doing earlier annoyed him enough that he turned his mind to something more interesting.How much were they paying those bastards for them to risk their lives that way?Climbing a tree to take pictures? As much as it annoyed him at the time, he couldn’t help but be amused.Maybe being a paparazzo paid a lot.Why didn’t he think of that before settling for working at a car wash?His initial anger seemed to have seeped out of him somewhere between her soft lips pressing against his and the ridiculous sight of grown men up in the trees.In the wake of his anger was a sudden weariness that made him want to stick his middle finger at the world at large.And now, she had to say that. She turned to look at him, and something shifted inside him.She really was beautiful in an ethereal way. T
“I don’t like spending your money, I don’t need Ruffs breathing down my neck, I don’t need your manager scolding me like a child and I definitely don’t need a thousand and one designer wears. What more? Who cares how I hold my fork? I just want to eat. You agree with me that all those aren’t necessary, don’t you?” he said with a bit of frustration.For the first time since they entered the room, she gave him an easy smile, “You need them,” she said apologetically. “If you really want to do this, then all these things are needed. They will tear you down anyway, but then if you are equipped in the right way, the sting will be less,” she said sincerely.Ayo considered that, and he liked the sound of it, “I don’t want to go about with your card,”“We will get you your own,” she said smoothly.“It will still be your money.”“We can consider it a sort of payment for doing this,”His look darkened before he said, “Don’t insult me,” “I am sorry. What about we count it as a loan? You can pay
“Why do I feel like you can let go of all this and produce your own movie? It will be less painful.” Ayo hesitated as the driver parked in front of The Karina.Tanya shook her head with a smile, “Only you would think that having dinner with the James Harvey is painful.”Ayo grinned before he asked with fake innocence, “Who is this guy again?”Tanya played along and touched her hand to her forehead with a groan, “I think I need to fire Ruffs after all. How can he not explain this to you?”“Yeah, that is a very good idea,” Ayo agreed readily. “I tell you that guy is not good at his job. Fire him, please. I can do fine on my own. See? I even managed to dress myself without the babysitter.”Tanya hid her smile as she gave him a considering look. “You are right,” she said solemnly.Then she tugged at the lapels of the blue custom suit that fitted him to a tee. She patted it into place before rolling her eyes at him “You are not getting out of this that easily, you know. Ruffs is staying an
Melinda!” James' curt tone was sharper this time, and he looked directly at his fuming wife, who seemed like she had more to say, but she thought better of it and picked up her wineglass again.Tanya smiled sweetly and said, “Shall we order?”James shook his head, “Actually, I have lost my appetite. We all know why you are here. Let’s get it out of the way. I have somewhere else to be.”Tanya’s smile disappeared as she said, “Fine. I find it unfair that you decide not to launch Tainted Desires because of an unrelated event.”“Unrelated?” James asked with a raised brow, “You are the lead actress. The main face of the movie, and pardon me for calling a spade a spade, but most of your fans hate you right now. I can’t take that risk.”“I won’t go as far as to say hate. And why should that matter, really? I put my sweat and blood into that movie. I gave four months of my life for it too. You know my rule of not taking on two projects at a time. I did my very best for that movie, and now you
Ayo thought the night was over but soon realised it was just beginning.After the producer left with his thin-rail wife, he had the best dinner ever with Tanya, where she gave him the juicy details of how she had beaten Melinda in two contests and how Melinda’s poor acting skills made her lose a role.The director gave the role to Tanya, and she only found out later that it was taken from Melinda.Soon enough, Melinda became engaged to the widowed producer and announced that she was leaving her career to focus on her home.Many gossiped behind Melinda that she was just a trophy wife, who passed up her flopping career for a ring, but Tanya had never joined them.She and Melinda had always been polite to each other though Meg had always told her that the lady did not mean well for her.With her snide comments that night, Ayo could see what Meg meant.Gradually, their conversation moved from the woman to other things.Ayo couldn’t remember the last time he had had such an enjoyable time
“Can you see that? He attacked him! That nobody dared to attack my boyfriend!”With Susan’s shrieks ringing in their ears, they were led out of the restaurant through the back door.Ayo swore under his breath when he saw that a few reporters who must have realised that they were leaving rushed towards them. But before they could get to them, Tanya’s car arrived and they quickly entered the car.The driver peeled out with speed and Ayo looked back to see Tanya’s men stopping the reporters from following them.He was already blaming himself for his rash action as he turned back to Tanya.Her face was turned away, and he couldn’t see her expression in the tinted window.“Tanya, I…”He turned sharply when he saw her shoulders shaking.Was she crying? Oh shit!He held her shoulder, “Tanya, I am so sorry. I shouldn’t…”He gaped at her when she turned to him, and he could see that her face was brilliant with silent laughter.Her shoulder was shaking because she was holding it in.She could l
The closer they got, the more tense he got.Tanya felt the need to tell him that she had not been living in a bubble over the years.She wanted to let him know that she had been in the rundown part of the city before.Though she had never been to any of them without her entourage, nor had she actually come to the Bariga part of the city before, she knew it couldn’t be worse than some of the areas she had been to visit orphanages and give relief to those in need.They rode in silence since he gave the cab man his address. She had kept her eyes closed as she felt he wasn’t in the mood for conversation.She wondered why a man who had been so confident even under the scrutiny of the media would seem nervous just because she wanted to see where he stayed.Was he ashamed?“What is there to be ashamed of?” she wondered as she opened her eyes and turned to look at him.His head was turned to the other side and the hard features of his face made her rethink what she was about to say.Words mig
“You can’t blame me, bro,” Barechested with a hammer in his hand, Gbade scratched his head with the hammer.“I can. You should have said something when we entered instead of staying in the wardrobe like a fool,” Ayo said tersely.Behind him, Tanya buttoned her shirt and put on her glasses and cap.“Can I turn around now?” Gbade asked in a whiny tone.Ayo looked at Tanya and she nodded jerkily.She still wished the floor would just open up and swallow her.Gbade’s big belly jiggled as he turned around and said, “You really can’t blame me, bro. You know how this area can be. I just got back from my trip and I suddenly heard someone opening the door. I couldn’t take any chances.”Ayo gave him a scathing look before shaking his head. He looked at the hammer in his hand, “So you were going to brain them with that?”“Wasn’t ready to let them take my hard-earned money just like that, you know. One of us would have met our creator today.” he boasted as he lifted the hammer like he wanted to
"Why is he here?" Tanya felt Ayo's hand tighten on hers.She turned her head to see Martinez down the hall surrounded by his new manager and his bodyguards.She noticed that the bodyguards were fewer than he normally had.She supposed he had to keep up pretenses because she of all people knew that he could no longer afford them.He could barely afford the clothes on his back as he was so neck-deep in debt that she was sure he wouldn't finish paying for them in a decade, even if he decided to straighten up and do better.Since that didn't seem to be in the cards anytime soon, she was sure even his pretences would crumble soon enough.She saw Derek, a heavyweight champion, pointedly snubbed Martinez and walked away.When he spotted them, he turned towards their direction, but Tanya looked at her security head before turning away.She knew he wasn't going to get to her family even if he became a fly."Ignore him," she told Ayo. "Some people still believed that his old music, Gangrene, des
“It will be fine,” she told herself firmly.She had to believe it.She told her men to stay out while she looked for him.She entered the hotel and was directed to the ballroom on the second floor, sectioned off separately from the main floor.Tanya took the stairs that led to the ballroom just as someone was coming down it.“Why must I always see you everywhere I go? Isn’t it enough that you ruined my life?!” Susan’s shrill voice dampened Tanya’s mood.She wondered what she was doing here, especially coming from that part where the receptionist said it was closed off to the public for the day.Despite her curiosity, Tanya decided to ignore the bitch so she could go away with her trouble. She had something better to deal with, and she was not going to allow her to ruin it for her. She continued up the stairs expecting Susan to shut her trap if she didn’t respond.She gasped when she suddenly felt a hand pull her from behind, and she slipped backwards.“Tanya!” she heard Ayo’s voice as
“I am pregnant?” Tanya started at the doctor in shock.“Yes, princess. That explains all those feelings you’ve been having. Congratulations.”Tanya couldn’t believe it.She stared blankly at Dr. Aguilar then looked down at her stomach.Cupping it, she stood up from the bed and walked slowly towards the door.She flung it open and Christianah almost tumbled in. She had her ears plastered to the door, while Meg leaned against the railing with a worried look on her face.Meg hurried forward while Christiana steadied herself, “Well?” she asked while peering into Tanya’s pale face. “What is it? You are fine? You are fine, right?”Her worried tone made Tanya nod automatically, and then she said quietly, “I am pregnant. He said I am pregnant.”“Pregnant?! That is good news!” Meg said excitedly, then “Come, you shouldn’t be standing. You are pregnant…”Tanya didn’t believe she could squeeze laughter past the ball lodged in her chest, yet it erupted as she looked at Meg’s face. “Pregnant, not s
In a theatrical whisper, he said, “It is that man I saw on the TV with you. I think he is your husband? Yes, that one. Such a wicked soul,” he said with disgust on his face right before he forked some lobsters into his mouth.“There are many men with me on the TV, many have acted as my husbands before too. Which one of them are you talking about?” Tanya asked with confusion on her face.“I mean the…” he cleared his throat and drank wine to wash down the hastily chewed food. “The real one. The one you married instead of Martinez. What is that name I hear people call him? Yes, Mr. Taiwo. That one.”With surprise evident on her face, Tanya leaned forward. “Are you sure about this? You must have been mistaken. After all, it was a dark street.”“I know it as sure as I know my name, princess. I won’t lie to you. If that killer wants to lie about it, I can say this right to his face!” he said firmly.“Oh? That means you wouldn’t mind repeating this anywhere?” Tanya asked.“Of course not! Mart
Tanya waved the man over as she saw him enter the restaurant.She had booked the whole restaurant for the evening and was seated alone, so it was easy for him to see her.He wore a blue windbreaker jacket that seemed to have seen better days, just like his jeans and shoes. He seemed to be in his thirties.Smiling broadly, he approached her table. "Hello, princess. I can't believe I am meeting you in the flesh. This is so surreal. May I have an autograph, please?" he said excitedly."Of course, why not?" Tanya answered with a smile. "Let's get down to business first. We can do that later.""Okay, okay," he said as he scraped the chair back loudly and sat eagerly while smiling at her.Tanya disliked his shifty eyes immediately, but she held her smile as she assessed him. Her eyes went towards the man behind the counter with his face turned away before focusing on the man giving her a once-over.She was sure she had never seen him before nor knew him with Martinez, but then it was easy to
She was ashamed.The better Ayo’s family treated her during their two-day visit, the more ashamed she felt about the way her mother had treated Ayo and was still treating him.The visit was meant to be a few hours' visit, but his sister had persuaded her to stay one more day.She could see that his mom loved the idea as well, so she immediately agreed.It had been the most relaxing and heart-filled visit she had ever had.Ayo’s mother did not treat her like a stranger at all. She treated her like she had known her for ages.Her care and compassion almost seemed alien to Tanya.It wasn’t that her mother wasn’t capable of love, she just couldn’t remember a time when things like her career and her standing in the family hadn’t overshadowed any bond they might have developed while spending time together.If she thought hard enough, maybe she could recall a time in her childhood when she had been allowed to just be a child or when her mother had just looked at her with love without thinking
She covered the distance between their hands and linked them together, saying, “I want to meet your family. It would be my honour to see your home.”Emotion clogged Ayo’s chest and thickened his voice as he said, “And after that?”“I want you back,” she said without hesitation.“Back? Like…?”“Forever,” she answered. “I don’t want to end this. I lied when I said this was just an arrangement. I want more.”Oh, baby. Ayo’s hands tightened on hers as his eyes swam with the blooming emotions in his heart. “I want more too, baby. I want it all. I don’t ever want to let you go. I will work hard to deserve you. I will…”She leaned forward to lay her finger on his lips, “Ssshh,” she said softly. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. You are more than enough for me,” she said with glistening eyes.Ayo shot out of his chair and hauled her into his arms before he could stop himself.Enough. She believed he was enough.Apart from his family, no one had ever believed he was enough.E
Excitement and anxiety warred in Ayo as he entered Avery.Avery was one of the top restaurants in Lagos with full-course international cuisines. One could request any food from Asian delicacies to oriental cuisines.The restaurant was so famous that one had to book a reservation at the restaurant at least a week before the date.Ayo had decided to try his luck that afternoon when he called. He was disappointed when he was told they were booked for the next three months.He was thinking of another place he could invite Tanya to that would be just as phenomenal when he got a call back from the restaurant.“You are in luck, sir. Someone just cancelled their reservation now. Would you like to take it?”“Yes,” Ayo said immediately.Though the reservation had taken the bulk of the money he had left, he was happy to do it for her.The security guard greeted him cordially and opened the door for him, and he stepped into the cool interior.He was surprised when he saw three attendants waiting f
“You won’t believe this!” Tanya smiled as she readjusted on the bed and asked, “I can sense it is something exciting from your voice. What is it?”“Oh my God! Excitement is the least of what I am feeling right now. I am overwhelmed.” his exuberant voice made her smile widen.Oh, she missed him. She wished she could see him right now.Even better, she wished he could be beside her at that moment. She missed him badly, but she was determined to respect his decision.“Even if it kills me,” she thought as she rolled her eyes at herself, then focused firmly on his excitement.“Do you know James Beed? I mean, what am I even talking about? Of course, you know James Beed. Mr Beed called me!”“Oh?” she prompted while grinning from ear to ear.“He called me for my book! He wants to make it into a movie! Can you believe that?! He was even talking about series, collaborations, and some other things I couldn’t really focus on. Can you believe this, Tanya? My book will be turned into a movie. I wro