Bright Future 2

Chapter 9

Buchi froze over the tempting question. He had always wanted to know what really went wrong. They had something beautiful and magical going on between them then, till she suddenly broke up with him without any explanation. But he was unsure now if he still wanted to find out. Being mad at her was the only thing that expelled his love for her and drove him to success. He was scared now — afraid that the hate would dissipate if she explained her reasons; and if it happened, then he'd have no excuse not to fall for her again and his family would be ruined in the end if he were not careful. Could he take such risk? He wondered, but the curiosity equally, could not leave him. Slowly he sat back on his seat, staring at Dera with hard eyes.

"Talk" He said.

"Thank you" Dera said nervously, forcing a smile on her face. "My mom's the cause..." she began. "Not like I'm blaming her for my mistakes tho, because I too equally had the right to decide if I wanted to — or not. I was young and foolish then." She sighed nervously, keeping her gaze steady on an impatient Buchi, making her realize she was just beating about the bush.

"I had something greater than us to protect, Buchi — My family name. My father was a good man with a reputable name, but he suffered a very rare disease that damaged his vital organs. We spent a fortune trying to save him but he died anyways. We found out about the disease too late. It had already eaten him deep but we had to try to help. With his death we realized that we had really lost a fortune. We had lost a lot of money and his company had almost gone bankrupt — a company he inherited from his fathers — it was his legacy. Now, being the only child, the pressure was shifted to me to rescue his Legacy — his name. That's why I even began to hookup with Henry. Buchi, before you my life had already been meticulously figured out by mom. Henry was a huge part of the plan. I'd get a green card to build my future in the Land of Opportunities [The US] if I married him, since he was an African-American. But then we crossed paths and I fell in love with you — a detour from my mom's plan. In the end, I was forced to choose, Buchi — between us and my dad. I'm sorry Buchi, but there's no way I could choose us over my dad. That's why I broke up with you. Then went ahead to marry Henry." Dera explained carefully, studying Buchi's countenance. There had been a glimpse of sadness and anger in his face when she had mentioned that she married Henry, but he had expelled it, so quick that she could've thought she was mistaken, had it been she was not certain what she saw. He still cared.

"Did you do it? Did you save your dad's legacy?" Buchi asked calmly, his countenance softening a bit.

"I did. I'm not one to fail... but then..." Dera paused hesitantly, studying Buchi's expression, then she continued. "It didn't matter anymore because I lost something precious in order to get the job done. Now I'm wondering if indeed I did not fail." She said calmly, speaking more to herself than him. "Anyways I'm no longer together Henry. I divorced him."

"Why?" Buchi found himself asking — he was curious.

"Many things, Buchi, but mostly the fact that his family were indifferent towards me. For some reason they didn't like me and he could not stand up for me. He cared for me honestly, but he was a dimwit. I divorced him, because I couldn't tolerate them anymore. Then I moved to London, where I continued to pursue my career." She explained.

There was brief silence between them as Buchi pondered over what they had discussed. Just as he had feared, his anger against her had dissipated after her explanation. He could not hold a grudge against her no matter how hard he tried. He was still caught up in his emotions before it began to rain.

"Shoot!" He exclaimed glancing anxiously at his watch.

"What's the matter?" Dera asked, concerned.

"I still got a lot of work I need to attend to but it's raining now, and my driver left with the car after he dropped me off, here. To make matters worse, my phone's dead. I can't connect to him" he complained.

"Oh I wish I could help, but I came with Uber, not my car" Dera said, but Buchi was already on his feet. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"There's an automobile shop across the street. I'd just get a new car there."

"But it's raining. You'd get drenched."

"I'd just make a run for it."

"Okay, at least let me come with you." Dera requested.

"Why?" Buchi asked, shaking his head in disagreement.

"I want to see if I'll find something I like. Plus I have an umbrella, I don't mind sharing it with you." She offered. Buchi was silent for a brief moment, then he nodded in agreement and together they exited the coffee shop.

Buchi and Dera were hurdled against each other, as they squeezed their masses together so they umbrella could cover them. It was raining in torrents now, the wind blowing ferociously. As they worked their way carefully across the street, Dera could not help but wonder why Buchi had suddenly softened towards her. Could it be she had found the charming innocent boy she sought for? While she pondered over the matter, her other emotions which she had suppressed, threatened to burst out in a frenzy. She could not seem to control herself about him. Her heart was racing and she could feel the heat rise on her cheeks. She was blushing but she did not understand why? How was it that just being this close to him had such effect on her? She was still battling with her excitement before a sudden gusty wind came at them once, twice and on the third time, it knocked the umbrella off Buchi's grip, drenching them as they began to run towards the automobile shop that was just a few yards away.

Buchi and Dera were attended to immediately they entered the automobile shop. They were both given towels to dry themselves. After that, they were both taken to a mega showroom where Buchi was supposed to decide what car he wanted. They sauntered past many vehicles, as Buchi inspected them, searching for the one that would suit his taste. It had seemed hopeless at first as they passed fleets of cars and Buchi was still indecisive, till he spotted a mythos black Audi R8.

"Ahh! This one speaks to me" He said as he walked towards it. He bent closer to inspect the car properly, then he stood erect again. "Welcome to the family, Bolt" he announced softly, speaking more to himself.

"Excuse me?" Dera interrupted him, bewildered by what he was doing. Buchi understood the look on her face and he smiled in return — It was the first time he had done that and for some reason it sent butterflies to Dera's belly.

"I'm welcoming him to the family." He tried explaining, but Dera still had that look on her face — she was still confused. "Sorry for that." He apologized — for the first time too. "This is a ritual I do each time I get a car by myself." He elucidated.

"How many cars do you have?" Dera asked — she was simply curious.

"I have no idea" Buchi said chuckling. "But there's Phil, Johnny, Smooth and Vision" he said but Dera arched an eyebrow at him in reply — she was confused again. Buchi chuckled once more, then he began to explain to her. "Johnny's a Black Mercedes G63 AMG SUV, Vision is a Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo, Smooth is a matte black Lamborghini Veneno, and then there's Phil, the oldest one amongst them. I never I drive him. I kept him as a souvenir as the first car I bought with my own money. He's a sleek black Mercedes E-Class W123 with real twenty-four karat gold wheels and rims, and grille too." He explained with enthusiasm.

"You do have an expensive taste." Dera acknowledged, speaking more to herself than him.

"I guess you're right" Buchi agreed.

"So if you like the Mercedes brand so much, why did you go for an Audi now instead?" Dera asked curiously.

"Like I said before, he spoke to me."

"Well I hope you get to meet Marie" Dera said softly. It was Buchi arching an eyebrow this time — he was lost. " She's a white Bugatti La Voitre Noire" she explained. Buchi was nodding his head showing that he understood her before the automobile salesmam came with his bills and a receipt. After Buchi had settled with him, the man retreated back to his office.

"Now what should we do with you?" Buchi asked Dera, keeping his gaze steady on her — she was beginning to shiver from the cold.

"Well I didn't find anything I like here. So I'll just wait for my Uber." She shrugged.

"Can't you just get a car here. Look you're already catching a cold." Buchi suggested — there was affection in his eyes now. He did not know it, but Dera had seen it before he could expel it.

"No I can't. I don't buy cars if I'm not sentimentally attached to it" she explained.

"Ok fine. Allow me to drive you home. It's the least I can do to help." Buchi offered. Dera was more stunned now. Why was he doing this? Why was he suddenly being nice to her? But then there was no secret agenda behind Buchi's sudden change. Forgiving Dera had simply lifted a heavy a burden from him — one he did not realize was even there. With the lifting of this burden, a jovial him that had been locked away was released.

"Fine" Dera muttered, accepting his help.

"First we'll be stopping at the Opal Manor to get rid of my wet clothes too and so you can be attended to, before I drop you off at your place" Buchi said as they entered the new car. Without waiting for Dera's consent, he drove off the automobile shop for the Opal Manor, pressing down on the accelerator as he drove.