Monday
BUKKY POV:
I woke up with a throbbing headache, made worse by the noise my little sister was making to wake me up.
"Aunty Bukky, wake up! We're ready for morning prayer," she said. "You should have done that without shouting," I scolded her. She left immediately.
Oh, how troublesome she was — but I really love my sister. She's just twelve, yet she behaves much older than her age, and I admire that about her.
I stood up sluggishly and dragged myself to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Today is another day — and a Monday at that. Each day passes with
me getting older... with something not in place. "Good morning, Mum. Good morning, Dad," I greeted as I saw my parents
in the living room. At fifty-two, my mum still had her beauty intact, while my dad, at fifty-seven, looked just as handsome,
with only a few wrinkles. They both looked younger than their actual age — you could say it's comes from our lineage.
"Good morning, sweetie," Mum replied, while Dad only nodded.
We had our morning devotion as usual. "Happy birthday, Aunty!" Toke shouted with her tiny voice. I almost gasped. Oh, right — my birthday!
"Happy birthday, darling. More good life, dear," Mum added. "Thank you, Mum," I said. "Happy birthday, my princess," Dad said — he calls me that only when
he's in a good mood. "Thank you, Dad," I said, beaming.
"Hello…" I heard Toke's voice. She was holding my phone. "What—" I began, but then I heard a voice from the phone. "Hello, good morning my fams!" the voice
said — so manly but sweet. "Good morning, Akanni!" my sister replied, blushing.
"Good morning, my friend! You got lucky for being my first caller, and you just won yourself a free shoutout for three days," Akanni said.
"Thank you!" Toke replied excitedly. "Who do you want to shout out to?" he asked. "My sister! Today's her birthday," Toke said quickly,
glancing at me while I rolled my eyes at her. She was being so childish.
"Sure, what's your sister's name?" Akanni asked. "Bukky," my sister said proudly.
"Okay, dear," Akanni said. "Hello everyone, it's my little fan's sister's birthday today! Her name is Bukky. Happy birthday to you,
Bukky — we celebrate you today, in wealth and prosperity. My fans on Facebook send their love, and on TikTok, they wish you a wonderful new year of life."
He paused — and I couldn't stop myself from blushing. The way he mentioned my name, the calm confidence in his voice — it was so sweet.
"Hello, dear, are you there?" he asked again.
"Yes, Akanni, thank you. My sister couldn't hold herself from blushing hard," Toke said before I could react.
"What! Are you kidding me?" I shouted, forgetting Akanni could hear everything.
"Sure, baby," he laughed. "I'm glad I could make her happy. Hello, Bukky," he added.
"What!" I almost exclaimed, then shook off the idea of replying while he was still live in the studio.
'Just talk to him,' something wispered in my head.
'no,' I replied mentally.
"My sister is very shy to speak with you right now, Akanni," Toke said. "What are you doing, Toke?" I hissed.
"No problem, Bukky. Just know that we at Fresh FM are wishing you a wonderful birthday," Akanni said kindly.
"Actually, my sister is also single like you at twenty-seven. That's bad, right?" Toke blurted out.
"yeah, my sister is also single like you
at twenty-seven. That's bad, right?" Toke said again, her eyes glimmering with mischief.
I froze.
Did she just—? My mouth fell open as Mum let out a soft chuckle and Dad shook his head, trying not to laugh.
On the phone, Akanni laughed—a deep, smooth sound that made my stomach flutter
"Haha! You're really something, little one," he said warmly. "But that's adults' business. Maybe when your sister is ready,
she can come on the show and tell us about her dream man, hmm?"
"Ehn? Dream man ke?" I blurted before realizing my mic was still on speaker.
Dad burst into full laughter. "That might not be a bad idea," he said, amused.
Mum smiled slyly. "Maybe that'll help her find her mate," she added, emphasizing the word only we understood.
Meanwhile, Toke was grinning like she just won a prize. "So, Akanni, maybe you and my sister could—"
"Ah-ah, little one," Akanni interrupted gently, his tone playful but kind. "You should prepare for school before your mum comes for you.
It's getting late already."
"Aww, okay," Toke sighed, pretending to pout.
"Good girl," he said. "And Bukky—happy birthday again. Don't be too mad at your sister, okay? She just made a lot of people smile this morning."
Before I could think of what to say, he ended the call with his usual catchphrase, "Keep shining, my fams!" and the line went dead.
The living room fell silent for a few seconds before Dad spoke, still smiling. "Toke, you're something else. Go get ready for
school before you make another broadcast."
"Yes, Daddy!" she said, giggling as she ran off.
I folded my arms, still fuming, trying to hide the blush creeping up my face. "I can't believe you all found that funny."
"Oh, we did," Mum said with a teasing grin. "And Akanni sounded quite charming, didn't he? and Toke mentioned that he is also single"
"Mum! what are you thinking?" I protested, covering my face.
But deep down, I knew she was right. Something about Akanni's voice lingered in my thoughts — calm, confident, and oddly familiar.
And as I went to my room to get ready for the day, I couldn't shake the strange feeling that today — my birthday — was going to be different.
Very different.
The rest of the morning passed in quiet chaos.
Toke had finally dashed out for school, humming one of Akanni's jingles as if she hadn't just embarrassed me in front of half of Fresh FM's listeners.
I sat at the dining table, staring blankly at my cup of tea. "Bukky?" Mum's voice
broke my thought. She was watching me with that knowing smile mothers always had.
"You've been staring at that tea for five minutes."
I sighed. "It's nothing, Mum. Just thinking about work."
Dad chuckled from behind his newspaper. "Work, or that Akanni boy?"
"Dad!" I gasped. "He's not— It's not like that."
Mum and Dad exchanged one of those looks — the kind that said 'our daughter's in denial.'
"Well," Mum said softly, "sometimes fate has a funny way of introducing people."
Her words made something inside me shift. Fate. The word echoed with strange feeling
After breakfast, I slipped into my work clothes — a simple fitted gown and heels. As I stepped out into the morning air,
the cool breeze of our estate brushed against my face.
I started walking toward my car parked in garage.
I just returned from work and scrolling on my phone, when I decided to check my contact list, then I saw an unknown number. I ckicked on it, then it shows that the person is on whatsapp. curiosity overpowered me, and I decided to see who it was. Then I texted
"hi 👋" the profile pop up to show
a very handsome face have ever seen so far. then under it i saw the name touting my mind since morning "Akanni" his face even seems pretier than his voice
I forget that just now i was about getting angry at myself for texting him, but I just decided to leave the text.
11:30 p.m. — I received a text from an unknown number on WhatsApp.
Curious, I opened it — and gasped when I saw the name. Akanni.
He had just replied:
"Hi. This is Akanni from Fresh FM, Ado-Ekiti. Am I speaking with…?"
The message popped up before I could even decide whether to respond.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard before I finally typed:
"This is Bukky — my sister called you this morning."
A few seconds later, his reply came in:
"Oh, wasn't expecting your text so soon — I mean, immediately."
I felt a little disappointed in myself, thinking I might've been too forward.
Then his next text came:
"But I really appreciate it though — for texting and waiting up."
My heart skipped a bit.
"The pleasure is mine. How was your day?" I asked.
"It was splendid but stressful — you know, studio work…" he trailed off.
"Yeah? So you just got back from the studio?" I asked, my tone casual but with concern.
"Yeah, studio manager duties aren't child's play," he replied.
"I didn't think it'd be that hectic. Have you eaten?"
"No."
"Why?" I asked cautiously.
"Maybe too tired to eat… or just lazy right now."
"Oh, you'd do that yourself?"
"Bachelor life indeed," I teased, choosing my words carefully.
"Oh no, I've got a maid who handles that. I'm just too occupied preparing for tomorrow," he said, then added playfully, "And how did you know I'm still a bachelor?"
"It's obvious. But my little sis hinted at it. Too busy to pry into someone else's life though, 😂😂😂 " I replied.
For a few minutes, there was no response — only faint background shuffling on his end. Probably moving around.
"Busy right now?" I texted, hitting send before my cautious side stopped me.
When no reply came, I dropped my phone with a sigh and lay down, pretending to sleep.
Three minutes later, my phone chimed.
"Nah, I decided to pause whatever I'm doing. I'm at the table for dinner."
Then added,
"You better now?"
It sounded more like a question.
"Yeah, I'm relieved," I replied — then paused.
Why was I relieved he decided to eat? It's not like it was for my benefit
He ate late — more like midnight, around 12:47 a.m. — while we kept chatting. About life after school, work, society, the government. We both carefully avoided anything too personal.
We eventually said our goodnights and retreated to our beds. I doubted he'd really sleep though — maybe just saying that to ease my mind.
Before I slept, I couldn't explain what I was feeling.
I mean — Akanni, a studio presenter, someone I barely knew, someone I connected with through my sister's childish call… yet we chatted for two whole hours, like old friends who had just reconnected.
A smile spread across my face as I drifted off to sleep.
Tuesday
The Next Morning
I woke up at exactly 6 a.m., surprised that my body felt so light. I had barely slept, yet I wasn't tired. Something had changed in me — I could feel it, even if I couldn't explain it yet.
After my morning routine, I grabbed breakfast, picked up my Porsche keys, and headed to the garage.
Outside, I saw my parents giggling at some private joke. My sister was already heading to her car — well, her driver's car — to wherever she fancied. She greeted our parents first, then me.
When I replied, it caught my parents' attention.
"You're up early today — change of plans?" my dad asked.
"Nothing much, Dad."
"You were smiling all through morning devotion," my mom teased. "Care to tell me about your new catch?"
"Nooo, nothing like that, Mom." I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore her teasing.
By now, Toke (my sister's driver) was driving toward the gate as the gateman began his daily sweeping.
"Oh no, Bukky, why are you distancing your bestie now?" Mom pouted playfully — she looked so cute doing it.
"Why won't I? You two have been acting all lovey-dovey since yesterday," I
said, half-teasing, half-jealous — not from envy, but from pride in them. Even after all these years, they still loved each other deeply.
"Seems you forget things so easily these days," Dad said.
"And that is…?" I trailed off.
"Friday is our anniversary," Mom said, her face glowing with pride.
"Yeah, babe," Dad added, kissing her gently.
They were adorable — and I envied that.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Pardon me," I said, feeling embarrassed.
"Why won't you forget—" Mom started, but stopped herself.
Dad didn't.
"Why won't you forget, huh? When you won't even try to get one for yourself!"
Uh oh. I knew exactly where this was going.
"Not today, Dad," I said quickly, trying to change the topic.
"Then when?" he pressed. "When will you let someone love you and become the woman you're meant to be? I'm giving you four months to figure things out and get out of my house — or I'll hand the company to my nephew."
His tone was harsh; anger lined his voice and hardened his face.
"Darling, take it easy on her," Mom tried to calm him. "She'll figure it out in her own time."
"Figure it out in her own time?" he shouted. "Until she's thirty, forty, and no one wants her anymore? You made her like this, Folake!"
Oh no — he used her first name. That meant he was really angry.
"You know what? Do whatever you want," Mom said sharply. "I don't care anymore."
Dad's tone softened a little — he knew he'd crossed a line by raising his voice at her. He stormed off, leaving Mom hurt and silent.
I hated myself for causing this — for stirring tension between them, especially during their anniversary week.
It wasn't my fault I wasn't married yet. I just wanted to be ready — emotionally, spiritually, physically, even financially. Marriage is a journey, not something to rush into.
I wanted a perfect marriage like theirs.
"Have a good day, Bukky," Mom said quietly, walking toward the backyard.
And just like that, the cheerful morning was gone — replaced by silence and distance.
I sighed, walked to my car, and drove out of the GRA — feeling small, lost, and low-spirited.