Chapter 34: Chapter 34

4 years later

Bella's POV

With a heart full of joy, I look up at the familiar building as dad's car pulls into the driveway of our house.

"Here we are," he grins at me. Except dad, no one knows about my arrival. We planned a class reunion but I did not tell anyone if I was coming or not.

"Is everyone home?" I ask, unable to hold back my smile. Dad nods and we step out. It takes a lot of effort to hold my legs back from running into the house and screaming at the sight of my family. It's been so long. Too long. I only visited home once in my first year at New York university, studying Biochemistry.

The house smells of mum's delicious cookies, making me inhale deeply.

‘I've missed this!’

Nes is the first to appear. She's still wearing her bogus pyjamas with a tank top as she walks lazily down the stairs in her fluffy mouse slippers with her head facing upwards.

I grin and dad clears his throat to catch her attention.

"Hey da―” she stops abruptly, eyes as wide as saucers. Suddenly letting out an ear piercing scream, she jumps repeatedly on the spot before sprinting down the remaining steps to jump on me. She almost knocks the air out of me but I don't mind because I'm equally excited.

"What's going on?" Alex.

I look up at his surprised face. He jogs down the stairs to engulf me in a bear hug. I'm particularly happy to see him because I constantly fought back thoughts of his health even though there has been no bad report. Jason comes into view next.

"There's the mad physicist," I grin as we hug. The triplets decided to school in Lagos state university. Jason is studying physics, Alex is studying accounting and Nes is studying computer engineering. We named Jason the mad physicist because he holds the best record in his field.

"Where's your mum?" dad asks, looking around.

"Oh, she's with Mrs. Lawrence," Nes replies cheerily. "I'll call her."

"No," I stop her. "I'll go meet her there." I feel the excitement bubbling within me as I think of the idea of going next door.

"I'll go with you," Nes chirps, interlocking our arms.

"Jasper's not home," Nes informs me once we're outside. My shoulders drop in disappointment and I frown.

"Don't be such a cry baby, he went to make cash!" she passes a toothy grin and I roll my eyes.

She huffs. "Babe, don't act like he won't be spending most of it on you. You think I don't know that he sends you some?" She wiggles her brows in a funny way, making me laugh. Although we weren't dating, he insisted on sending me money some times.

"Well, where'd he go?" I ask.

"He travelled out of the country with his boss for an urgent job," she tells me.

"So he won't be available for the reunion?" I ask no one in particular but Nes replies anyway.

"That's very likely. He left just yesterday and is likely to return next Monday."

‘Ugh, why did I decide to keep the Sabbath holy and not travel yesterday? I would have met him!’

"Well, no one asked you to be too busy with biochemistry to attend the last one two years ago," Nes says in a mocking tone, earning a mock glare from me. She shrugs, opening the Lawrence's door without knocking and pulling me in.

"Seriously Nes?" I give her a disapproving look but she shrugs it off.

"Mum, Mrs. Lawrence!" she calls out. "Guess what?"

No reply comes as I'm sure both women are used to Nes' sassy attitude.

Mum drops the whisk she's holding once she sees me. I laugh at the shock on her face. "Bella?"

I embrace her, laughing before going to hug Mrs. Lawrence.

"What a surprise!" mum exclaims, assessing me with her eyes.

"Yes," Mrs. Lawrence nods in agreement. "How was your trip?"

"It was generally okay. Just a little hiccup along the line." The look on mum's face makes me smile. "Turbulence," I clarify and she nods.

"What're you baking?" I look to the island cluttered with baking ingredients.

"A three step cake for a birthday party," mum replies.

"Oh, can I join?" I ask.

"You should rest. And we have your arrival and graduation to celebrate," she stresses graduation. It's a pity my family couldn't attend my graduation two months ago. Everyone was choked up with one thing or the other. But of course we'll celebrate ours here.

"Indeed. And congrats dear, heard you graduated with second class upper," Mrs. Lawrence says and I smile. "You need to celebrate your entry into a new phase of life," she adds and everyone nods.

"But I still want to join you. We'll celebrate when this is done," I insist.

"Alright," mum gives in.

"Me too," Nes chips in.

Mum looks her over and sighs. "Nes, what are you wearing?"

I chuckle.

"Don't worry mum, Mr. Right will still recognise me when he sees me." Nes jokes. Mum shakes her head while the rest of us laugh.

"Where's Mary? And Luke," I ask.

"Luke took Mary shopping," mum tells me as she whisks some eggs.

"Jasper travelled," Mrs. Lawrence adds, looking at me knowingly.

I laugh awkwardly. "Nes briefed me," I say.

We chat about various experiences as we continue to bake. Nes, though just sits there eating chocolate while we work.

***

Saturday night.

Jasper's POV

I rush into the house, my bag almost slipping off my arm.

"Jasper?" mum calls in astonishment.

"Hi mum," I greet.

She tries to look behind me as she comes closer. "Who's after you?" she asks, making me laugh.

I shake my head at her. "No one mum, I just need to get to the reunion. Remember it's today?"

Her lips form an 'o' before she puts on a suspicious look. "Reunion, huh? Are you in a hurry to get to the reunion on time or to see Isabella quickly?" she questions bluntly, surprising me.

"M-mum," I gulp. "I didn't even know she's in town!" I lie.

"Oh please Jasper, learn better lying techniques. Nes called you in my presence to snitch about Bella's arrival," she blatantly states, leaving me speechless.

"What cards did you play to get home today?" she queries with a sly look.

A sigh escapes my lips. "Mum, do you have to delay me now? I'm late already," I complain. She gives me a blank look, telling me to just spill.

"Fine, I hastened things up. Worked night and day to get the job done so we could seal the deal today. And it worked," I explain, observing the smile that begins to form on her face. It looks a lot like pride.

"That's my boy, always working his head off to get what he wants," she praises and I chuckle.

"Mum, I'm not a boy," I tell her. She always calls me that and it's crazy how she doesn't realize how much that tramples on my ego. She rolls her grey eyes which my brothers and I took from her.

"Can I go take off these ripped jeans now?" I ask.

"Yes you can. And please take off that top too," she instructs.

"Yes mum," I call back, sprinting up the stairs.

"And your siblings went out with your dad," she calls. I slow down when she mentions dad. He travelled two weeks ago and I didn't know he'd be back by now.

Compared to how our relationship was four years ago, dad and I have been on good terms. We've had good conversations at intervals and there hasn't really been any fights between us but I'm sure he feels the same distance I feel from him.

I change into a pair of black chinos pants with a black turtleneck and a red blazer, do other necessary things before going downstairs.

"I'll be off now mum," I call out to her, heading for the door but her voice stops me.

"Jasper, I just got off the phone with Ms. Valerie. She couldn't reach you so she called me. There's a newly completed house in the market now and she thinks it matches what you want," she explains away and I nod. Ms. Valerie is a real estate agent who is helping me get a house.

"Okay, thanks. I'll meet up with her tomorrow," I tell her and turn to leave only for her voice to reach me again.

‘Oh cheese.’

"Yes again, mum."

"Ignore what I said about learning better lying techniques," she nearly whispers. I pass her a puzzled look before bursting into laughter. Walking over to her, I embrace her.

"I'll see you later mum," I tell her before pecking her.

I arrive at the event venue after a fifteen minute drive. I spot someone getting off the phone and know who it is immediately.

She never returned to her previous size after the baby but I must say, she looks even more beautiful. That, I'm sure, is one of the reasons Hakeem couldn't resist her.

"Hello, Halima," I greet, walking up to her.

She smiles broadly once she sees me and extends an arm which I take.

"Hey Jasper, how's it been?" she asks as we walk towards the hall.

"Good, good. And how is my little ninja doing?"

She chuckles, shaking her head. "Hamid is doing fine, thank you very much. He won't stop talking about ninjas, thanks to you," she rolls her eyes and I laugh.

"And Mr. Hakeem?" I ask, looking at her.

"He's doing okay too. He's been so busy lately, I'm having to spend hours alone with that ninja-obsessed boy causing chaos," she explains in laughter and I do the same. Two years after she had Hamid, Halima met Hakeem. They dated for almost a year and he popped the question.

"Don't beat him up please; he's working hard for you," I tell her and she sighs.

"Anyway, guess who's three months gone?" Halima says, raising a brow at me.

My eyes widen before they trail down to her stomach. It's not obvious at all but I smile, knowing a little baby is growing in there.

"Congrats, Halima, congrats!"

"Thank you," she smiles before looking forward. "She's here, you know?"

Following her line of vision, my eyes land on the one person who made me so eager to be here.

My mouth opens subconsciously as my eyes rake her body. I observe how her shape is way more obvious than the last time I saw her. Her short black dress is hugging her curves tightly and on her waist sits a white fanny pack.

‘Wow.’

When Isa was away, I didn't really think of her every time, no, I just dated girls that bore certain resemblances to her. None of the relationships worked out though.

She swivels abruptly in her white sneakers to face me when Alice tilts her head in my direction.

A smile tugs at her ever-cute lips once she sets her eyes on me and I stroll up to her, sporting my cockiest smirk to hide my excitement.

***

Bella’s POV

My heart jumps when Alice mentions Jasper and I find myself spinning around to look in the direction she juts.

I fight to keep the feelings in, letting only a smile slip as I watch him stride towards me with his signature smirk I've missed so much. I only got to see it in plain pictures in the past years but watching the way it forms slowly on his face has an entirely different effect on me.

"Didn't expect to see you here today, Ms. Smith." That is his form of greeting.

"Neither did I expect to see you here, Mr. Lawrence," I reply. His lips stretch in a full smile. He acknowledges Alice and Melody who excuse us after a few seconds.

"You look different," he tells me, making me want to look myself over to know if there's something wrong with my outfit.

‘Rats! Hope it's not my hair, cause I had to add a lot of effort to tame it into this sleek style.’

"What about me is different, if I may ask?"

His eyes flit to my hair and my heart drops. "Your hair... it's much longer." He studies it with a smile and looks at me when I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"And?" I breathe out, diverting attention from my tensed state. To be honest, I don't know why I'm this bothered about my look. I mean, I looked in the mirror like a hundred and two times and everyone assured me I look splendid so what's with the sudden fear? ‘Ugh.’

"Do you really want to hear it all?" he asks, raising a brow.

I scoff. "Of course!"

"Fine," he shrugs. "Your curves are so prominent, I could trade looking at your pretty face just to feast my eyes on them twenty four hours a day."

My eyes almost fall out of their sockets. "Jesus, Jasper! That is so perverted," I whisper-yell, looking around.

He looks confused. "What's perverted about what I just said?" He shrugs innocently. "First, you wanted to know everything I thought was different and secondly, I didn't even get to the part where I want to touch and hold and f―"

"Stop, stop, stop," I cut in, causing laughter to erode from his mouth. I try to hold mine in but fail.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be telling you that," he apologises.

"Why?" I blurt without thinking.

‘Oh geez, there goes my mouth again.’

"Because it's perverted?" he replies, uncertain.

"Yeah totally," I say quickly. "Plus, I'm sure your girlfriend won't be very pleased to hear you say that to someone else," my autopilot mouth blurts.

‘If someone could dig a trench and put me in it, I'd be happy. What am I saying!’

Jasper looks a little shocked but gathers himself quickly and chuckles lightly. "Girlfriend." It's not a question.

The MC calls everybody's attention before Jasper is able to say anything and the ceremony begins.

"Do they always have to start this late?" Jasper complains. "We were three hours behind schedule the last time and now four."

"How awful. They should've made it clear it's an all night party. Geez," I huff, leaning back in my chair.

***

I dance in my seat as I watch my friends dance with their partners. Melody is dancing with a guy she introduced as Osaze. They met at the university of Ibadan. Alex was a little heartbroken but he got over it when he met a girl whose name I never remember. Alice, on the other hand is having the time of her life with same old Simon.

I've been fighting back the urge to dance but I know I'll give in soon. Ousman waves me from the other side of the hall, where he's sitting with a lady he introduced as his girlfriend. I wave back with a smile. I've been sitting with Jasper all this while but we have hardly said a word.

A new song begins to stream from the speakers and I unconsciously get up.

"I love this song," I tell no one in particular but the chuckle that leaves Jasper's lips tells me he heard. I smile down at him.

"Get up and dance," I say, earning an immediate head shake from him. "Ow, don't be a bore, come on let's dance," I coax but he stands his ground. Fed up with his attitude, I pull him up by both arms.

"Isa, I don't want to dance. In fact, I can't dance," he pleads but his words fall on deaf ears as I pull him to the dance floor. I start to dance, holding his hands and trying to make him move but he simply follows my lead.

"Come on, move your body properly. You're really boring, you know that?" I pout, turning around to back him in slow dance steps.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Jasper suddenly whispers into my ear from behind, startling me a little. I move to face him but his arm around my waist keeps me in place.

"What are you doing?" I ask, a tad bit confused.

"You want me to dance, don't you? I want to dance... in this position." He pulls me to himself, sending butterflies flying in my stomach. I close my eyes when we begin to make slow dance moves, savouring the feeling of his chest against my back.

‘Oh, his cologne.’

I breathe in his perfume, leaning in to him unknowingly. His voice suddenly cuts through my reverie.

"Isa?" My eyes fly open and I realize we have stopped dancing. Trying my hardest to keep my flustered look in check, I look up at him.

He gradually turns me around to face him. "Let's go somewhere," he tells me but before I ask where, he's already pulling me to get my purse and his blazer.

I place my phone back into my purse with a laugh. "Melody kept yelling, asking where I’m going. I purposely didn't call her so she doesn't bug me to death," I say and Jasper chuckles.

"It's a wonder how Alice and Simon are still together," I think aloud.

"True," he chips in.

"They should totally get married," I say, looking at Jasper who laughs. "And then maybe Melody will end up marrying Osaze."

"That name is so difficult to pronounce. How do you say it?" Jasper complains, making me laugh.

"It's not that hard," I say, looking forward.

"And you?" he asks, some seconds later. I look at him, lost. "Who will you end up with?"

"Oh," I say quietly. "Well, there's no one for now," I laugh.

"You're kidding," he says in disbelief.

I smile. "There was one guy, Temi, back in New York. We went out a couple of times, started dating but he wasn't ready to commit to one girl so, I left him." The smile on Jasper's face confuses me.

"You look... happy to hear that I'm not getting married anytime soon," I point out in uncertainty.

"I'm happy you didn't continue dating the douche," he states.

"You don't even know him," I say.

"Yeah, but I know he's a douche."

I shake my head at him. "Unbelievable. Where are we going?" I whine for the third time.

"Isa, there's one thing that isn't different about you," Jasper tells me. I stare silently at him, waiting for the remaining information. "You're still a bug," he states and I gasp.

"Here we are," he informs me and I look out the window.

"Jasper." I look at him with a smile of deep joy on my face.

He passes me a heart-warming smile. Memories flood back to me as I step out of the car and walk quickly to the bridge.

"I come here often. When I want to think," he tells me, leaning on the railing. I smile warmly.

The next two hours sees us talking about everything and nothing.

"Isa?" Jasper says, ending my short laughter session.

"Do you want to get married soon?" The question takes me by surprise. "I mean, how soon? Just a random question," he quickly adds.

"Um..." I clear my throat. "Actually, soon. I feel I'm ready, just waiting for the right guy, I guess."

The silence is getting too long so I chuckle and look away.

"Why?" I ask, averting my gaze back to him. "That didn't sound like a random question to me."

He sighs, looking down at his feet. "I don't know, I just... I was just curious." He scratches the back of his neck.

‘Is Jasper... Nervous? For real?’

He looks at me and sighs again; this time, in surrender. "Look Isa, I... This is crazy but will you believe it if I tell you I only dated those girls I told you about because they had certain resemblances to you?"

My eyes almost fall out. ‘What?!’

"It's true. So, I was wondering if you know, you could give me a chance to be the man in your life. You know, like be the person that... the person that―" I shush him.

"You're ranting," I say before quickly placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I take that as a yes," he laughs and I nod. "But, are you here to stay? In Nigeria, I mean."

I nod in response. "So tell me, why exactly did you ask about marriage?" I ask, earning a knowing look from him. "Well, the fact that you never got over me is prove that you're ready to handle my questions," I say matter-of-factly.

"Since you want to hear it, maybe it's because I want to marry you," he tells me, making me open my eyes wide. I don't know if he's joking but it seems Jasper is actually thinking of settling down.

‘Oh my God!’

"You're crazy," I say, slapping his arm casually.

He shakes his head. "Nope. Why do you think I'm getting such a large house aside the fact that I love luxury?" I laugh at his insinuation before looking at him with a genuine smile.

"You really mean that?"

"Totally, Isa." He pulls me close. "I want, more than anything, to build my life with you in it. These years you've been away, I thought I could get over you but I failed. Seeing that what I felt for you could be more than just infatuation, I decided to hold on regardless of distance," he tells me and plants a kiss on my forehead. His words are so sweet, I feel like crying especially with the cool breeze hitting us.

"Now, your mum won't beat you up for kissing," he says and before I can form words, he leans in to kiss me.

"Welcome home, Isabella. I see a beautiful journey ahead."

"That's poetic," I laugh, leaning my head on his chest and watching the still waters. This is me back to my home, looking forward to the future. Well...

‘Hello again, Nigeria.’