Subdued (18+)✔️ [A Nigerian Romance]

58~Engagement Party

Kachi and his friends had been silent through dinner, barely answering questions directed at them and eating their food slowly. Rose and her siblings chatted all through dinner, along with a few faces Kachi didn't know.

"Ahem," Mr. Okafor, Rose's father cleared his throat and all attention immediately snapped to him. "Onyekachi, thank you again for honoring the invitation."

"No problem sir." Kachi bowed his head in greeting.

"I hope you'll forgive me for taking the initiative to call your in-laws home. You've been dragging your leg on the marriage issue so I figured I'd help by taking the first step." The old man smiled then took a sip of his beer.

Chike choked on his drink and Ada immediately started patting his back, the two looked on in confusion. Kachi had a look of confusion while the rest of the dinner party wore smiles.

"Excuse me sir, I don't understand. What marriage are you talking about?" Kachi asked.

The old man looked to his wife and then his daughter who smiled. "Rose said you finally proposed a few months back but we haven't seen the drinks yet. So I assumed you had some reservations that she didn't want to speak about. You've known each other for years so I'm sure there's no need to delay the wedding. Am I right?"

"Wedding?" This time it was Ada that asked, looking to Kachi for clarification.

"I'm confused sir," Kachi said.

"Nna, stop beating around the bush and speak clearly to the young man," one of the men at the table said and the people around burst into laughter. The man turned to face Kachi. "When are you bringing palm wine for the family? We've accepted your proposal already. We hosted this small dinner to acquaint you with the rest of the family and to let you know that we accept you. There's no need for you to be worried."

Chike began coughing anew and Ada passed him a glass of water.

"I think there's been a misunderstanding," Kachi said, turning to look at Rose. She refused to meet his gaze so obviously she was the mastermind behind everything happening this evening. "There was no engagement."

"Osi gini?" the man that had spoken before asked in Igbo. "What is he saying?" he repeated in English so everyone could understand.

"I'm here for a different reason sir. Can we talk in private?" Kachi asked, ignoring Rose who was now trying to catch his attention by waving her hand towards him.

Mr. Okafor looked at his brothers and family members before nodding. He stood up and Kachi followed, tapping Chike on the shoulder to come with him. The old man led them to a mini parlor and they sat down.

"I hope all is well?" he asked.

Kachi began to tell the old man about his relationship with Rose, how it had ended even before it began and how much he'd endured. He advised the man to look into the mental health of his daughter and all through the conversation, the man didn't say anything. When Kachi was done and placed the contract on the table, the man sighed.

"I've had my fears about this girl for a while now. I'm really sorry it came to this. Can we call her in? So we can see what she has to say, after all it's the two of you in the relationship."

"No problem sir. Chike please help us call her." Chike nodded and stood up to go back to the dining.

"You don't need to pay us. You've already done so much for the family and kept quiet about my daughter's shortcomings. I won't feel good accepting the money," Mr. Okafor said when Chike was out of the room.

Kachi was honestly surprised at how calm the man was and with the fact that he was returning the money. From all Rose had said, she'd made it seem like her father only cared about money and was the one that pushed her into the relationship.

"No sir, please accept the money. You people are like my family, and regardless of whether Rose and I are together, I care about you people. Besides with the added stipulation, Rose would think twice about trying to impose in my life."

The old man only nodded. Rose and Chike came in just then, with the woman immediately making her way to Kachi's side.

"Hey darling," she whispered. "Papa, you sent for me," she said in a louder voice.

The old man began to narrate all Kachi had said and Rose didn't deny anything. She said she'd asked for forgiveness and that they'd moved on. Kachi refused to call her out on it. If they started dragging that one, they'd be here for a while. As it was, it was almost ten in the night and he hadn't been able to reach Aria to tell her he would be late.

"Sign those documents," her father said to Rose.

"What are they?" She pulled it close and began reading, her eyes widening as she did. "I can't sign this. Baby please have a rethink naw." She fell to her knees in front of Kachi, tears already forming in her eyes.

"Nma, you've done a lot already. Just sign the papers and free the man. He's being generous even," her father advised.

Rose's expression immediately darkened and she slowly Rose and then sat back down in her seat. She smiled and that worried Kachi a whole lot. She picked her phone from the table where she'd dropped it earlier and began to type. After a few seconds, she passed the phone to Kachi.

He recognized the Instagram account immediately as Aria's and he began to read the conversation between the two. He couldn't believe Aria had been digging up information on him and even went as far as to send Rose a message on Instagram asking who Kachi was to her. And to that, Rose had typed that Kachi was her husband to be.

He felt rage, so much rage. The woman he was doing all these for didn't even trust him. She went around snooping into his affairs while he was busy doing everything he could to make their relationship work.

Rose snatched her phone back and handed him the already signed documents. "It's a good thing I hadn't signed before replying to her message. I wish you luck on that one."

Kachi's chest was boiling and he felt his mind race. How long had Aria been looking into him? How far had she gone? How would their relationship even work without that trust?

He turned to Chike who was staring at him, confused about what was happening. "Guy let's go."

***

Omo, you guys might get up to three chapters today o! That's how hot the writing spirit is now lol. Please you guys should appreciate me for the many updates jor.

See wahala that Rose landed my boy in o. Who can see how this man is now taking it? He's getting angry for the wrong reasons lol.

Please let me know your thoughts by commenting on this chapter and vote if you enjoyed it.

Thank you for reading ❤️