Chapter 1: The Brother I Couldn't Stand
The first time I met Kelechi, I wanted to pour my drink on his head.
Okay, maybe that sounds a little dramatic.
But in my defence, he deserved it.
"Amaka, please behave yourself," Chidinma whispered.
I looked at her.
"Behave myself how? Your brother just insulted my car."
Kelechi, who was standing right in front of us, raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't insult your car."
"You said it looks like it survived an accident."
"I said it looks like the accident."
Chidinma covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
I stared at him.
He smiled.
That smile.
God, I already hated him.
"Kelechi, you haven't changed," Chidinma said.
"I haven't seen her in years. Give me a chance."
"Chance for what?"
He looked at me.
"To annoy you properly."
I rolled my eyes.
"You're doing a fantastic job already."
Chidinma laughed.
"Both of you, please. I haven't even introduced you properly."
"You don't need to," I said. "I remember you."
Kelechi looked amused.
"Really?"
"Yes. You're the annoying older brother who used to hide Chidinma's slippers when we were teenagers."
His smile widened.
"You remember that?"
"Unfortunately."
"I was protecting her from bad influences."
"By hiding her slippers?"
"Exactly."
I shook my head.
"You're still annoying."
"And you're still loud."
Chidinma sighed.
"This is going to be a long weekend."
She was right.
Very right.
Because that evening, she casually announced something that almost made me choke on my food.
"By the way, Amaka, you're staying here for the next two weeks."
I stopped chewing.
"What?"
"My apartment is being renovated. You can stay with us."
I slowly looked at Kelechi.
He was already looking at me.
Then he smiled.
"Welcome home."
I pointed my spoon at him.
"Don't start."
He laughed.
I turned to Chidinma.
"Your brother is going to drive me crazy."
Chidinma shrugged.
"You'll survive."
I wasn't so sure.
Because Kelechi had already made one thing very clear.
He was going to make my life difficult.
What I didn't know was that, before those two weeks were over, he would become the last person I expected to fall for.
And that was going to be a much bigger problem.
