Chapter 1
It was a beautiful afternoon. Tasha stood in front of the mirror, admiring her reflection. She was wearing a beautiful blue gown decorated with tiny white pearls, paired with elegant white heels. Today was her graduation day.
A small smile formed on her face as she looked at herself. She felt happy—truly happy. This wasn't the course she had always dreamed of studying, but somewhere along the way, she had grown to love it. She had never regretted choosing it.
For a moment, she simply stood there, taking everything in. She felt a little proud of herself. She had made it.
Tasha had always been proud of her brown skin and the unique features that made her stand out.
Today, however, it wasn't her appearance that made her smile the most. It was knowing how far she had come. She took a deep breath and smiled at her reflection.
"From here on, things will change," she whispered to herself.
"I'll have everything I've always dreamed of—a man who loves and cherishes me, and a career that will give me the life I've always wanted."
Just then, she heard a voice from outside. "Tasha, be quick or we'll be late!"
It was Liz, her elder sister.
"Coming!" Tasha called back.
She gave herself one last look in the mirror before walking out of the room. Her mother and sister were already waiting for her. Together, they left for the graduation ceremony, unaware that this beautiful afternoon was about to mark the beginning of a completely different chapter in Tasha's life.
When they arrived at the school where the graduation ceremony was being held, Tasha immediately spotted her friend Vivian and several of her course mates.
The majority of them had been pushed into the course by circumstances. Some had eventually fallen in love with it, while others never did. Well, everyone had their own preferences, she guessed.
Tasha herself hadn't liked the course at first. But she had always felt that it was her responsibility to do well because her education wasn't free.
She still remembered the very first day she wrote the entrance test. She had given it everything she had. When the results were released and she saw her name among the successful candidates, all the stress suddenly felt worth it.
She remembered how all her course mates had been looking at her because she had always struggled with her grades after the betrayal she experienced in secondary school.
But that was all in the past now. Back in the present,
Mr. Edward, Tasha's HOD, stood at the podium, calling out the names of the graduating students. One by one, the graduates walked onto the stage to receive their degrees.
"Tasha."
Hearing her name, Tasha stood up with a smile and made her way to the stage. She collected her degree and posed for a photograph before returning to her seat.
Finally, the graduation ceremony came to an end. Tasha, her sister Liz, and her mother walked out of the graduation hall together.
The moment Tasha stepped outside, she stopped in her tracks. Standing a short distance away was Zion, her boyfriend.
He was standing beside his car, holding a huge bouquet of flowers. Next to him was another bouquet—but this one was made entirely of money.
A few of his friends stood nearby, holding a large hot-air balloon with the words:
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR GRADUATION!
For a moment, Tasha couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Then her face lit up.
"Zion!"
She ran toward him and threw her arms around him.
He hugged her tightly, and Tasha couldn't stop smiling. She had thought he wouldn't be there. He had told her he was travelling to Abuja that day, so she never expected to see him at her graduation. Yet here he was. He had surprised her.
Zion's friends cheered from the side as the two of them stood together. Tasha looked around at everything—the flowers, the money bouquet, the balloon, her family, and Zion. It was everything she had ever wanted. And at that moment, she felt like the happiest girl in the world.
Zion opened a bottle of champagne, and everyone around them cheered as he sprayed it into the air.
His friends clapped and laughed as they celebrated with Tasha. After the celebration had settled down a little,
Zion turned to her. "Come with me. Let's celebrate your graduation properly. I want to spend some time with you."
Tasha smiled, but then she remembered her mother. "Let me ask my mum first."
She took Zion by the hand and walked over to her mother. "Mum, can I go out with Zion for a while? He wants to take me somewhere to celebrate my graduation."
Her mother, Josephine, looked at Zion before asking, "When will you be back?"
"Sunday," Zion answered calmly.
Liz, who had been standing nearby, immediately looked at him in disbelief. "A week?! What kind of celebration takes a whole week?"
Josephine turned to her. "Liz, be quiet."
Then she looked at Tasha and smiled. "You can go. Just take care of yourself and make sure you are happy. You've worked hard for this."
Tasha's face brightened. "Thank you, Mum!"
She hugged her mother before turning to Zion. "Let's go."
As Tasha and Zion drove away, Liz watched their car disappear down the road.
On their way back home, she turned to her mother. "Mum, why did you allow Tasha to be gone for a whole week?"
Josephine smiled softly. "It's been a long time since I've seen Tasha this happy. Besides, let her have some fun. She's always indoors."
Liz didn't say anything after that. She simply kept quiet, watching her mother with a thoughtful expression.
Zion took Tasha to the airport. As they walked toward the departure area, Tasha looked at him curiously.
"Where are we going?"
"Abuja," he answered.
Tasha stopped in surprise. "What?! Why Abuja?"
Zion simply smiled and looked at her with a smug expression that seemed to say, I know you better than you think. "I know you've always wanted to go there."
Tasha's cheeks turned pink. She playfully hit his arm. "Don't think you know me too well."
Zion laughed, and soon they were both laughing together.
They boarded the plane, and not long afterward, they landed in Abuja. The journey from Kaduna to Abuja wasn't particularly long, so before Tasha knew it, they had arrived at their destination.
After leaving the airport, Zion took her to a hotel where they checked in. "Go ahead and freshen up. I'll be back soon," he told her.
Tasha nodded as he left the room. The moment she was alone, however, her excitement was mixed with nervousness. She wondered what the rest of their celebration would be like.
She had made a promise to herself about their relationship—that if they were still together after her graduation, she would be ready to take their relationship to the next level and, if everything worked out, spend the rest of her life with him.
She took a deep breath and went into the bathroom to freshen up. When she finished, she wrapped herself in a towel and prepared to leave. Then she suddenly remembered something. Her clothes! She had left Kaduna in such a hurry that she hadn't brought a change of clothes.
"I'll have to call Zion," she muttered.
She opened the bathroom door and stepped outside, intending to pick up her phone from the bed. Then she stopped. Zion was already sitting on the bed.
Tasha jumped in surprise. "I didn't know you were back!"
Zion chuckled. "I thought you were giving birth in that bathroom."
They both burst into laughter. He then handed her a bag.
"Here. I brought you some clothes."
Tasha looked inside the bag and smiled. "You really thought of everything."
Zion laughed. "Your mind is always somewhere else. Of course I have to think for both of us."
Tasha shook her head, smiling. "You're impossible."
"Now go and get dressed. We're going out for dinner."
"Okay."
Tasha took the bag and returned to the bathroom to change. As she closed the door behind her, she smiled to herself, wondering what else Zion had planned for their graduation celebration.
