Easily Erased

Love Is Real

Time has flown by, and it's already been five months since Mary disappeared. The last time her parents heard from her was a few days after she went missing. She sent them a text saying she was fine where she was and that they shouldn't worry.

However, the same can't be said for Adimchi. He has been left in the dark and still hasn't heard from her. His lifestyle of engaging in contract marriages has been on hold since his separation from Mary. The only thing he does now is have a good time with random women and pay them for their company.

This was his way of coping with Mary’s absence. "I preferred the old Adimchi who was involved in contract marriages, not this new one who sleeps with any woman he meets," his best friend said while they were working out in Adimchi's gym.

Adimchi laughed and replied, "Come on, don't be jealous, bro. If you want some, I'll pay for you. Just so you know, I don't deal with cheap women. The ladies I see are classy, some are even daughters of politicians and wealthy businessmen. But you know, I love repaying women who treat me well in bed, which is why I pay them."

"Classy or not, it's getting excessive. You change women almost every day and—"

"Oh, stop with the preaching. Are you going to tell me to settle down with one woman and stop living the life I’m enjoying?" Adimchi interrupted.

"No, I won’t tell you that because you’d just ignore me."

"So, what then? Do you want me to go back to contract marriages, since you seem okay with that?"

"No, not at all."

"Then what do you want? Should I stop enjoying myself with women? Hell no! There’s no way I’m doing that," Adimchi said, shaking his head as he continued lifting weights.

"Go back to her," Tobi said abruptly, but Adimchi didn’t pause his workout.

"Go back to who?" Adimchi asked.

"Mary," Tobi replied.

Adimchi’s mood shifted dramatically. He became visibly angry, his eyes darkened, and his face twisted into a contemptuous scowl.

"You’ve only gotten worse since the incident. Don’t you think she—"

"One more word about that woman, and not only will I kick you out of here, but our friendship will suffer the consequences!" Adimchi said firmly, resuming his weight lifting.

Tobi knew Adimchi was serious; once he made up his mind, there was no changing it. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned her name."

"I’ve noticed you love fairy tales. You always thought there would be a happily ever after for us. Sorry to disappoint you, but not all stories end happily. Deal with it. Or better yet, create your own happy ending with that girl you’ve been seeing for months now," Adimchi said with a chuckle.

"Motherfucker," Tobi muttered, doing push-ups.

"Right there, you should do 100 push-ups for mentioning her name," Adimchi laughed and stood up from the bench press to find another exercise.

"Screw you!" Tobi shot back, continuing with the push-ups.

Adimchi grabbed a bottle of water, took a long sip, and then headed to the treadmill. "It’s been a while since we traveled together. How about we plan something for next week?"

"Great idea, I’m in!"

"So, where should we go?" Adimchi asked, turning on the treadmill.

"Inbound or outbound?"

"Outbound, definitely. And I don’t mean any African country because I’ve almost visited all of them."

"Interesting. How about California or Miami?" Tobi suggested, finishing his last push-up.