A/N: Hey guys, another chapter. I know y'all been waiting for this so here you go.

P.s: I have a little something for you guys, I hope you enjoy it

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Noah

I walked into the hall with Ijeoma's arm locked in mine, we got a few stares from people mostly guys who were eyeing her making me feel extremely proud to have her by my side. Ijeoma was clad in a deep blue floor-length dress that had feathers on the side and at the end tips of the gown giving it an exquisite look. The dress was courtesy of my aunt Evelyn- my dad's sister who is a fashion designer, she opened a branch of her clothing store in Lagos a year after my parents got married which is where she sent the dress from.

After I invited Ijeoma to the fundraiser the hospital was holding, I asked my aunt to send something for Ijeoma to wear to the event. She was more than happy to oblige because I was her favorite nephew and she also wanted to help out. I sent her a picture of Ijeoma in order for her to see what she was working with and after two days I received the dress.

"Hey, relax" I whispered into Ijeoma's ear.

She looked tense as we walked over to the table that was filled with assorted snacks and foods.

"The amount of eyes on us is overwhelming" she replied.

"They are entranced by your beauty as they should because I'm finding it hard to concentrate over here" I said as a matter of fact.

"Stop" a smile graced her lips as she lightly hit my arm.

"I'm dead serious" I said

"Oh my God" she muttered and looked away, trying to hide the fact she was blushing hard.

I heard someone clear their throat making Ijeoma and I turn around; it was Dr. Tiwa, who was clad in a cream-colored floor-length dress that made her dark skin color pop.

"Hey" I said giving her a hug. "You look lovely, by the way"

"Thank you" she said before turning to Ijeoma and raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh. This is Ijeoma, my –"

"Girlfriend. I am his girlfriend" she said shaking hands with Tiwa making her smile broaden.

"And this is Dr. Tiwa, my colleague, and friend" I continued with a goofy grin on my face.

"Nice to meet you" they both said as they made small talk to get to know each other.

"Good evening everyone" Dr. Aderibigbe, the chief of the surgical department spoke into the mic as he climbed onto the stage.

Everyone's attention was turned towards the stage as Dr. Aderibigbe welcomed us and gave the speech he had prepared a few days ago. He talked about the hospital, how it was founded and the goals the hospital has reached and will reach with the help of our financial support.

The funds acquired through the event would be used for the free clinics all over Nigeria to keep it open and for pro bono cases. After the thirty minutes speech, Dr. Aderibigbe stepped down from the stage leaving people to mingle and the account numbers where the donations would be made to were displayed on the slide screen on the stage.

Tiwa excused herself to meet up with her fiancé who just arrived while Ijeoma and I busied ourselves with munching on the snacks on the table.

"Oh my God. Is that 2face?" she said in between mouthfuls as she used her hand to cover her mouth.

I turned around to where her eyes were directed at and indeed 2face (aka 2baba, a well-known Nigerian musician) was standing across the hall with his wife on his arm. He was surrounded by Doctors and business associates who were fans of his music.

"Yes, that's him" I turned back to her. "Are you a fan?"

"Who isn't?" she replied in a duh tone.

"Well, let's go and say hi"

Her eyes bulged out in disbelief. "No, thank you"

"Wait, you have the opportunity to meet 2face in person and you don't want to" I asked.

"What would I say if I get there? I'd probably stammer and make a fool out of myself hence my refusal" she said.

"You wouldn't, I promise. Come on." I said taking her hands.

"No, no, no please" she tried to pull back but I tightened my grip.

"Don't be such a scared cat. We'll just go over there and say hi" I said pulling her along with me.

"Okay, hold on" she said pulling her arm from my hold and grabbing a glass of white wine from the tray of a passing waiter.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What? If I'm going to do this, I'm going to need some Dutch courage" she said as she lifted her glass of wine to her lips and took a large gulp of it.

"Okay, let's go" she said once she had downed the whole glass and placed the glass on the nearest table making me chuckle.

We walked over to where he was standing along with his wife and we got closer the set of people standing with him walked away making Ijeoma exhale in relief.

"Hello, my name is Noah and this is my girlfriend Ijeoma. She's a big fan" I said as soon as we reached them.

"Nice to meet you" he said giving us both handshakes.

We made small talk with them before he asked if we wanted to take pictures with them and Ijeoma's eyes just lit up with joy. I offered to take the pictures for them and then Ijeoma interchanged with me when it was time for me to take mine.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?" I said to her as we walked away.

"Oh my God. I can't believe I just got a picture with him" she said still on cloud nine.

I chuckled. It wasn't every day I got to see her this fan crazy.

We walked back to our spot beside the food table as we watched people mingle around and different celebrities who were kind enough to grace the event with their presence take pictures with their fans. I asked Ijeoma if she wanted to meet with them but she said she was satisfied with 2baba alone.

I was about to ask Ijeoma to dance when a splashing sound was heard and a gasp followed. Dr. Tomi stood in front of us with her glass of red wine half empty and a look of horror on her face while Ijeoma stared at her dress where the other half of the wine went. Dr. Tomi was dressed in a blood-red dress that hugged her figure leaving very little to the imagination.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry" she said to Ijeoma

"It's okay. It's not even that noticeable" Ijeoma said as she dusting off the liquid droplets on the dress.

"I'm so sorry" she repeated

"It's fine" she assured her before turning to me. "I'll head to the bathroom to take care of this. I'll be right back."

I nodded

She left my side and headed over to where the bathroom should be.

"I'll go and help her" Tomi followed her quickly before I could even protest.

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Ijeoma

I grabbed some paper towels as soon as I entered the bathroom and soaked them up with water in the washing hand basin before using it to dab the wine stain. In less than ten seconds, the lady in red walked into the bathroom. I'd seen her at the hospital a couple of times but I never bothered to know her name because I didn't see the reason.

"It's fine. You don't have to be here" I said looking up from my dress.

"I know. I just came here to tell you to hold on tight to him" she said

"What?" I said utterly confused.

"You know Dr. Noah has a long line of women who want to get with him -- I mean he is one of the most wanted bachelors in the hospital and when the news about his mother being the owner of the hospital came to light that line tripled making him THE most wanted bachelor in the hospital" she said.

"I am particularly no.1 on that line but I'd like to think of myself as a woman of class and dignity which is why I'm backing off but the moment I notice that he's no longer interested in you, I would not hesitate to take that opportunity" she continued. "Hence, my hold on tight to him statement. It's my advice to you, woman to woman"

After that she sashayed out of the bathroom leaving me completely stunned.

"Well, that was something" I muttered under my breath.

I finished up on cleaning my dress before stepping out of the restroom and heading over to where I left Noah. He was now talking with some men and women who I guessed where his colleagues because I could see some familiar faces. He excused his self once he saw me approaching and walked up to meet me.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" I said with a genuine smile.

"Well, Dr. Tomi has asked me out to a couple of dates which I politely declined and her accompanying you to the restroom doesn't quite sit well with me" he said with a look of concern.

"Relax. I'm fine" I assured him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes" I said firmly.

We spent an hour more at the fundraiser before leaving since Noah had already made his donations when I went to the restroom.

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We arrived at my apartment an hour and a half later because we had to stop at my parent's hotel to pick Zozo who I had dropped off with them. She was asleep in the backseat, tired from all the running around she did at the hotel with my sister. Noah helped me lift her from the car and gently place her on our bed to sleep properly. I made a mental note to change her out of her day clothes and into her nightwear later but for now, I had to talk to Noah.

We settled down on the sofa in the living room and I turned to face him so I could see his face while I talked to him.

"So uhm – my family is living for Lagos tomorrow" I said

"Oh yeah, that's true. Do you want me to drop them off at the airport?" he said turning to face me.

"No, don't worry. My sister will order them an Uber ride and besides, you have work tomorrow" I said. "Although, that's not what I wanted to talk about"

"Okay. What's up?"

"My parents asked if I wanted to go along with them ... you know so I could go back to school and stuff" I said

Noah's posture stiffened but he quickly relaxed so I wouldn't notice but I did. "And what did you say?"

"I said I'd think about it first --"

"What, why? If this is about me then I want you to go –"

"Noah-"

"I don't want to hold you back-"

"Noah-"

"I would wait for yo-"

I placed my hand over his lips. "Shhh. Can you shut up for one second? Please"

He stared at me for a few seconds before nodding.

"Thank you" I said bringing the hand down and placing it on my laps.

"I already told them 'no'- "he moved to speak but I held a hand up "-and before you object let me explain why"

"There are so many things that happened to me back there which made me move all the way here to start afresh –and that is what I'm doing. As for my schooling, I can always go to any of the universities here – it's not like I'm going to continue from where I stopped if I go back. Universities only hold your admission for a year after which it becomes useless and it's been three years so why not just start over here. Zozo too is going to be starting kindergarten in a couple of months and I'm also focused on that, you know – school fees and all. Although my parents offered to fund both our education when I discussed it with them yesterday. Speaking of Zozo, she adores and loves you so much for me to take her away and the same goes for me too" I explained

"Wait hold up. Repeat that last part" he said

"Zozo loves you so much" I said feigning ignorance.

"The part after that" he persisted

"You really want me to say it" I whispered

"Please"

"Noah Kosisochukwu Wilson, I am deeply and utterly in love with you"

That was the spark Noah needed to make his move because as soon as those words left my lips, he slammed his lips unto mine. The kiss started out heated and intense for a few minutes and then reduced to a slow and sensual before coming to a stop so we could catch our breath.

"I love you more" Noah said with our forehead still touching. "You don't know how much I've wanted to say these words"

I chuckled.

"I always knew that I felt something for you but when I was faced with the option of actually leaving you, it made me realize that it was more than that. The lady in red from the fundraiser confirmed the fact that I made the right decision" I said

"Dr. Tomi? What did she say?" Noah pulled back with a confused look on his face.

"Nothing that you should worry about" I assured him.

"Well, I'm glad she said whatever she said because it's brought us closer" he said

I laughed.

"Can you say it one more time?" he said with a cheeky smile.

"Oh my God" I laughed.

"One more time, please"

"I'd say it as many times if you want" I said placing a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you"

"I love you too" he placed a kiss on my forehead as we cuddled on the couch basking in the moment.

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