😂❤️ MY BOYFRIEND IS A WALKING RED FLAG, BUT WHY IS HE SO FINE?
A romantic comedy full of lies, laughter, jealousy, and one very suspicious boyfriend.
Genre: Romantic Comedy | Drama | Mystery
Chapter 1: The Day My Peace Died
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CHAPTER ONE: A HANDSOME PROBLEM
If somebody had told me that falling in love would turn me into a private investigator, I would have remained single and concentrated on eating my mother's meat pie.
But no.
I had to fall in love.
And not just with any man.
I fell in love with a man who could make me forget why I was angry with him simply by saying, "Baby, have you eaten?"
Imagine being upset with somebody, preparing a whole speech in your head, even practicing your facial expression in the mirror, only for him to appear looking handsome.
Your anger will suddenly develop leg problems and run away.
That was exactly what happened to me.
My name is Amara, and before I met Daniel, I was a normal girl.
I slept peacefully.
I ate peacefully.
I minded my business peacefully.
Then Daniel entered my life, and suddenly, I was checking WhatsApp last-seen like a police officer investigating a missing person.
But let me not rush the story.
Everything started on a Tuesday.
And I honestly believe Tuesday is an unnecessary day of the week.
---
THE FIRST MEETING
I met Daniel at my friend's birthday party.
I wasn't even supposed to attend.
My original plan was to stay at home, wear my oversized T-shirt, eat noodles, and watch a movie.
But my best friend, Sandra, called me.
"Amara, get dressed. We're going out."
I looked at my ceiling.
"No."
"Why?"
"I'm tired."
"Tired of what? Breathing?"
I sighed. "Sandra, please."
"There's going to be food."
I sat up immediately.
"What kind of food?"
"Jollof rice."
"What time are we leaving?"
That was how my destiny changed because of rice.
When we arrived, I saw him standing near the drinks table.
Tall. Handsome. Nicely dressed.
He had the kind of smile that could make a sensible woman temporarily lose access to her common sense.
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
I looked away.
Then I looked back.
Don't judge me. I was only confirming what I had seen.
Sandra followed my eyes.
"Ohhh," she said.
I frowned. "What?"
"Nothing."
"Why are you smiling?"
"I'm not smiling."
"Your teeth are outside."
She burst out laughing.
"Amara, that guy is looking at you."
I adjusted my dress.
"Let him look. Is looking a crime?"
"No, but the way you're standing now, even the police will know you're interested."
I pushed her shoulder.
"You're mad."
"Madly observant."
Before I could respond, the handsome stranger started walking toward us.
My heart began behaving like someone had announced free money.
He stopped in front of me.
"Hi."
I smiled.
"Hello."
"I'm Daniel."
"Amara."
"Beautiful name."
"Thank you."
There was a pause.
Then, because my brain apparently decided to take a short holiday, I added:
"My mother chose it."
Sandra coughed so violently that I thought she was about to leave this earth.
Daniel laughed.
And just like that, I was finished.
I knew I was in trouble when I started laughing at his jokes before he even finished telling them.
He asked for my number.
I gave it to him.
He called immediately so I could save his number.
His name appeared on my screen.
Daniel ❤️
I stared at it.
He hadn't even asked me to be his girlfriend, and I had already decorated his contact.
Sandra looked over my shoulder.
"You're finished."
I locked my phone.
"Please face your front."
"My front is facing the future of your suffering."
I ignored her.
Unfortunately, Sandra was right about one thing.
My suffering had already purchased a return ticket.
---
THE TEXT MESSAGE THAT STARTED EVERYTHING
That night, Daniel texted me.
Daniel: Hey, beautiful. Have you reached home?
Me: Yes, I have.
Daniel: Good. I enjoyed meeting you today.
Me: Same here 😊
I put my phone down.
Picked it up.
Read the messages again.
Put it down.
Picked it up.
At this point, even my phone was probably tired of me.
Ten minutes later, another message arrived.
Daniel: Can I tell you something?
My eyes widened.
I sat up on my bed.
Me: Sure.
Daniel: I don't normally do this, but there's something about you.
I stared at the screen.
Something about me?
Was it my face?
My voice?
My intelligence?
My ability to locate food at any gathering?
I typed:
Me: What is it? 😂
Daniel: I feel like I've known you for a long time.
I smiled.
Then I did something I will never proudly confess to my future children.
I took a screenshot and sent it to Sandra.
She replied almost immediately.
Sandra: GIRL, DON'T FALL IN LOVE YET.
Me: Who said I'm falling in love?
Sandra: You've sent me six screenshots in ten minutes.
Me: I'm just sharing information.
Sandra: Information about your future husband?
Me: Sandra, go and sleep.
Sandra: Goodnight, Mrs Daniel.
I threw my phone onto the bed.
Then picked it up again because Daniel was typing.
I was not strong enough for this relationship.
And we hadn't even started dating.
---
THREE WEEKS LATER...
Daniel and I became official.
He asked me out properly at a small restaurant.
He held my hands across the table and said, "Amara, I really want to be with you. I want us to build something beautiful together."
I looked into his eyes.
For once, I had nothing funny to say.
I was genuinely happy.
"Yes," I whispered.
He smiled.
Then he said, "There's just one thing I want you to know."
My heart skipped.
Here we go, I thought.
Was he secretly married?
Did he have three children?
Was he an undercover agent?
I prepared myself for the worst.
He leaned closer.
"I'm a very jealous person."
I blinked.
"Jealous how?"
"I don't like sharing what's mine."
I laughed nervously.
"Daniel, I'm a human being, not a bowl of jollof rice."
He laughed.
"I'm serious, baby."
I studied his face.
Then he added, "I just love you too much."
And because I was young, happy, and apparently allergic to common sense, I smiled.
"Okay."
If only I could travel back in time and slap that particular version of myself with a pillow.
Not a hard slap.
Just a small warning.
Because the jealousy Daniel was talking about was not ordinary jealousy.
This man could compete with a ceiling fan for my attention.
If I said a male celebrity was handsome, Daniel would suddenly ask what that celebrity had achieved in life.
If I mentioned a male classmate, he would ask whether the classmate knew I had a boyfriend.
One day, I told him my phone battery was low.
He said, "Who have you been talking to?"
I stared at him.
"Electricity."
He frowned.
"What?"
"Daniel, my battery is low because NEPA has refused to give me light. Unless you're accusing me of dating the charging port, please let me rest."
He laughed so hard that he had to sit down.
I thought he was just playful.
I thought his jealousy was harmless.
I thought many things.
That was my first mistake.
---
THE NIGHT HE STARTED ACTING STRANGE
Two months into the relationship, Daniel began behaving differently.
At first, it was little things.
He would read my messages and reply hours later.
Sometimes, he would call me at night, talk for five minutes, and suddenly claim he was sleepy.
This was the same man who once stayed on the phone with me until 2 a.m. arguing about whether a hot dog was technically a sandwich.
Now he couldn't talk for ten minutes?
Something was wrong.
I knew it.
My spirit knew it.
Even my pillow knew it.
One evening, I called him.
He didn't answer.
I called again.
Nothing.
I sent a message.
Me: Baby, are you okay?
No reply.
Thirty minutes later, I checked WhatsApp.
He was online.
I stared at the screen.
Online.
My message delivered.
My peace missing.
I waited another ten minutes.
Still nothing.
Then I saw something that made me sit upright.
Daniel had posted a status.
A picture of himself sitting in a restaurant with the caption:
"Good food, good company."
I zoomed in.
I don't know why I zoomed in.
Maybe I thought the truth was hiding inside the pixels.
He was sitting across from someone.
I couldn't see the person's face clearly, but I could see a hand on the table.
A woman's hand.
Long nails.
A bracelet.
My heart dropped.
I called Sandra.
She answered on the first ring.
"What's wrong?"
I sent her the screenshot.
Three seconds of silence.
Then she screamed.
"AMARA!"
I pulled the phone away from my ear.
"Why are you shouting? Are you the one dating him?"
"WHO IS THAT WOMAN?"
"That's what I'm asking you!"
"ZOOM IN!"
"I HAVE ZOOMED IN!"
"ZOOM IN AGAIN!"
"Sandra, if I zoom in any further, I will enter the restaurant myself!"
She went quiet.
Then she said something that made my stomach turn.
"Amara, check the time he posted it."
I checked.
The status was posted twenty minutes ago.
I looked at the time I had called him.
Twenty-five minutes ago.
So, while I was calling him and worrying about his safety, he was sitting in a restaurant with another woman.
My eyes began to sting.
But before I could cry, Sandra spoke again.
"Wait."
"What?"
"Look at his wrist."
I zoomed in.
Daniel was wearing the black wristwatch I had bought him for his birthday.
I knew that watch.
I had spent weeks saving for it.
He had kissed my forehead when I gave it to him and said, "Baby, nobody has ever done this much for me."
Now he was wearing it on a date with someone else?
My tears disappeared.
Anger replaced them.
"Oh," I whispered.
Sandra became quiet.
That was how she knew I was genuinely upset.
Because I was no longer shouting.
I was no longer asking questions.
I was simply staring at the screen.
Then I smiled.
Sandra immediately panicked.
"Amara, why are you smiling?"
I stood up from my bed.
"Because Daniel has made one mistake."
"What mistake?"
I picked up my bag.
"He forgot that I'm a very peaceful person."
Sandra exhaled.
"Thank God."
I looked at her through the phone.
"Peaceful people can also cause problems."
"Amara, PLEASE DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID."
I ended the call.
And left my room.
---
THE RESTAURANT SURPRISE
I arrived at the restaurant twenty minutes later.
My heart was beating so fast that I could hear it in my ears.
I wasn't sure what I would do when I saw him.
Would I cry?
Would I shout?
Would I pour water on his head?
I had watched enough movies to know that pouring drinks on people looked satisfying, but I was not financially prepared to replace restaurant property.
So I decided to behave like a mature adult.
I would walk up to him and ask questions.
Calmly.
Respectfully.
Like a woman who had never searched "how to know if your boyfriend is cheating" at 11 p.m.
I entered the restaurant.
Looked around.
And there he was.
Daniel.
Sitting by the window.
Smiling at the woman across from him.
He looked happy.
Very happy.
The kind of happy he hadn't looked with me in weeks.
I took a deep breath and started walking toward the table.
Then I heard the woman laugh.
It was a familiar laugh.
I stopped.
I knew that laugh.
I had heard it before.
Many times.
My legs suddenly felt weak.
Because the woman turned her head.
And when I saw her face, I almost dropped my bag.
It wasn't a stranger.
It wasn't a random woman.
It wasn't even somebody I vaguely knew.
It was someone I trusted.
Someone who had been in my room.
Someone who knew all my secrets.
Someone who had spent the last two months telling me that Daniel was a good man.
I stood there, frozen.
Daniel reached across the table and held her hand.
Then he said something I will never forget.
"Baby, there's something I need to tell you."
The woman smiled.
"I know."
And then she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
I felt the entire restaurant disappear around me.
Because the woman sitting with my boyfriend...
was my best friend, Sandra.
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't speak.
I couldn't even cry.
All I could do was stare at the two people I trusted most in the world.
Then Daniel looked up.
His eyes met mine.
The smile disappeared from his face.
He stood up so quickly that his chair fell backward.
"Amara?"
I didn't answer.
Sandra turned around.
The moment she saw me, the colour drained from her face.
"Amara, please—"
I raised my hand.
"Don't."
The entire restaurant had gone quiet.
Daniel walked toward me.
"Baby, I can explain."
I laughed.
Actually laughed.
Because what exactly was he going to explain?
That the woman holding his hand was his long-lost cousin?
That they were rehearsing for a movie?
That the restaurant was conducting a social experiment?
I looked at him.
Then at Sandra.
Then back at him.
"Daniel," I said softly, "I just have one question."
He swallowed.
"Anything, baby."
I smiled.
"How long?"
He opened his mouth.
But before he could answer, Sandra suddenly stood up and shouted:
"AMARA, YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO ME! DANIEL IS NOT THE PERSON YOU THINK HE IS!"
I turned toward her.
"What does that mean?"
She started crying.
Daniel immediately grabbed her wrist.
"Don't you dare!"
I stared at him.
Then at her.
Because suddenly, I wasn't sure who had betrayed me.
I was sure about one thing, though.
There was a secret between them.
And judging by the look on Daniel's face, it was a secret he would do anything to keep hidden.
Sandra pulled her hand away from him.
She looked straight at me.
Then she said six words that changed everything.
"Amara, he's been lying to you..."
She paused.
Looked at Daniel.
And whispered:
"...about who he really is."
TO BE CONTINUED... 😭😂💔
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👀 WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Will Amara discover Daniel's secret?
Was Sandra secretly dating her best friend's boyfriend, or was she trying to protect Amara from something worse?
And most importantly...
Who exactly is Daniel?
Because, darling, the man who couldn't go ten minutes without asking Amara where she was might have a whole other life she knows nothing about. 👀
💬 Let's hear from you!
If you were Amara, what would you do?
A. Slap Daniel with questions until he tells the truth. 😂
B. Walk away and let both of them explain themselves later. 💅
C. Sit down, order food, and demand the full story. 🍗😭
D. Call Daniel's mother. Because every investigation needs a senior officer. 😂😂
Drop your answer in the comments! And don't go anywhere, because Chapter 2 is where things get even crazier. 👀❤️