Muna smiled a little. “Thank you.”
They finished eating soon after. Chibuike stood up.
“I will walk you home like I said.”
“Thank you,” Muna replied.
They walked together through the quiet road. When they reached her house, Muna stopped.
“Thank you for the food and for walking me home,” she said.
“Don’t mention,” Chibuike replied with a calm smile.
He turned and walked away. Muna entered the house. Inside, Azuka was already there. She heard the door open and also heard Muna’s voice talking to someone at the door. Azuka turned her head.
“Who did you come back with?” she asked.
Muna paused. Then she answered, “The same construction worker you embarrassed that day.”
Azuka’s face changed a little. She let out a small hiss and turned away.
Muna continued, “He even said he liked you, but not anymore.”
Azuka turned back fast. “What?”
Muna looked at her calmly. “He said your character put him off.”
Azuka’s eyes opened wider.
“God forbid,” she said sharply. “Me with a construction worker? Never.”
Muna stayed quiet for a moment. Then she spoke softly.
“He is still a human being. He works hard. He takes care of himself. He’s responsible.”
She stepped closer.
“Don’t let pride push away good people from your life.”
Azuka folded her arms.
“If he is not wealthy, he is not worthy.”
The room became quiet. Muna did not argue again. But deep inside that silence, something was starting to shift. Even if Azuka did not see it yet.
A few days later, during lunch break, Muna carried a nylon bag and went to the construction site. The sun was high as usual, and workers were busy around the building. Muna stopped at the entrance and looked around. She was looking for Chibuike, but she could not see him anywhere. She walked to one of the workers.
“Excuse me,” she said politely. “Where is Chibuike?”
The man pointed inside the site.
“He is on the other side of the building. I will call him for you.”
“Thank you,” Muna replied.
The man walked off and called him. A short time later, Chibuike came walking over. He looked a little surprised when he saw Muna standing there.
“Muna,” he said.
Muna smiled and held out the nylon bag.
“I brought this for you.”
Chibuike looked confused. “For me?”
“Yes,” Muna said softly. “It is just food. I wanted to say thank you.”
Chibuike looked at her for a moment.
“You did not have to do this,” he said.
Muna quickly replied, “It is nothing. Please don’t reject it.”
Chibuike gave a small smile.
“Thank you. I really appreciate this.”
He collected the bag calmly.
“Take care,” Muna said.
“You too,” he replied.
Muna turned and walked back out of the site. From a distance, someone was watching. It was Azuka. She stood inside the supermarket near the glass door looking straight at them. Her face changed as she watched Muna and Chibuike talking. When Muna came back into the supermarket, Azuka met her immediately.
“You are really doing too much,” Azuka said.
Muna looked at her. “What do you mean?”
Azuka crossed her arms.
“Why are you so attached to that construction worker? He is just an ordinary man.”
Muna stayed calm.
“I only gave him food because he helped me before. That is all.”
Azuka let out a small sound of disbelief.
“You are wasting your time with a poor guy.”
Muna did not reply. She just walked away to continue her work.
Days passed. Something small began to change. Muna and Chibuike started seeing each other more often. Not every day, but sometimes after work or during short breaks. When they met, they would greet each other. Sometimes they would talk for a few minutes before going their separate ways. Nothing too serious. But something was slowly building.
Azuka noticed it, and each time she saw them, she would say the same thing.
“Muna, why are you so unambitious?”
But Muna never argued. She just stayed quiet. And Chibuike, he also said nothing. But the way he looked at Muna when they met, it was starting to change something neither of them was ready to talk about yet.
Months passed and finally the building at the construction site was completed. It was huge. The glass building stood tall above the other buildings around it. Even from far away, people stopped to look at it. Soon, news started spreading across Enugu. The building was the new headquarters of a popular real estate company.
The company was already well known across the country, and many people talked about how beautiful the new headquarters looked. Then the day of the official opening finally arrived. Important people filled the event ground. Businessmen, government officials, rich men and women, television reporters, luxury cars lined up outside the building as cameras moved around recording everything.
That same day happened to be Muna and Azuka’s off day from work. Both of them were at home. The television was on inside their sitting room. Azuka sat on the couch watching the live event with interest after she recognized the building immediately.
“Isn’t that the building opposite our supermarket?” she whispered.
At that moment, Muna walked past the television and stopped. She looked at the screen carefully.
“That’s the same building where Chibuike worked,” she said.
Azuka kept looking at the television.
“That building is really fine,” she replied.
Then the event anchor stepped forward with a microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the man announced. “It is now time to invite the founder and CEO of this great company to give his speech. Please welcome Mr. Chibuike Solomon.”
The name caught Azuka’s attention immediately. Her face changed a little. She had heard that name before many times. Chibuike Solomon, owner of one of the biggest real estate companies in the country, but she had never seen his face before. Very few people even knew what he looked like.
Then a man stepped forward toward the podium. The moment Azuka saw his face clearly on the television screen, her body became still. Muna also froze. It was Chibuike.
The same Chibuike from the construction site. The same Chibuike Azuka poured water on in the supermarket. The same Chibuike she insulted in front of the site workers.
For a moment, nobody inside the room spoke. Only the sound of the television could be heard. Muna slowly sat down. Her eyes remained fixed on the screen.
“I don’t understand,” she said quietly.
On the television, Chibuike adjusted the microphone and began speaking calmly.
“Good afternoon everyone. Thank you all for being here today. This building means a lot to me and to my company. As the CEO of this company and also a civil engineer, I wanted to personally supervise this project from beginning to end alongside my team. This headquarters represents our standard and the kind of quality we believe in.
“Site engineering has always been my passion. Long before the company became successful, I started by taking small contracts and working directly on projects myself. I worked on sites like many other workers you see every day. Step by step, I grew the company into what it is today.
“Even now, after all these years, I still enjoy being directly involved in some projects personally. When the design for this headquarters was approved, I decided I would work closely with my team on the site until the project was completed.”
The room where Azuka and Muna were seated remained silent. Everything suddenly started making sense. Muna now understood why Chibuike had worked at the site like an ordinary worker, why he never behaved proudly, why he stayed calm no matter how people treated him.
Slowly, Muna turned and looked at Azuka. Azuka’s face had completely changed. The confidence she always carried was gone. Her eyes stayed fixed on the television screen, and for the first time in a very long time, Azuka looked ashamed. She looked like she had lost something very dear to her.
She slowly turned and saw Muna already looking at her quietly. Neither of them spoke. There was nothing left to say at that moment. Azuka remembered every insult, every harsh word, every time she called him poor. And now the truth stood right in front of her on national television.
That day, Azuka learned a lesson she would never forget for the rest of her life.
The next evening, Chibuike arrived at Muna’s apartment. He came in a luxury car. The car stopped outside the house and the driver stayed inside. Chibuike stepped out and walked to the door. He knocked.
A few seconds later, Muna opened the door. She looked surprised.
“Good evening, sir,” she said politely, like she always did.
“Good evening, Muna,” Chibuike replied with a calm smile.
Before anything else could happen, Azuka heard his voice inside the room. She quickly rushed out. The moment she saw him, her face changed.
“Chibuike,” she said quickly, her voice now sweet. “Good evening, sir.”
She moved closer to him, trying to act friendly.
“I’m really sorry for everything that happened before,” she said fast. “Please forgive me.”
Chibuike looked at her quietly. He already knew she had seen the news. He stayed calm.
“It is fine,” he said.
Then he turned to Muna.
“Muna,” he said, “will you go out with me today? A date.”
Muna froze for a moment. She did not expect that. Then slowly a small smile appeared on her face.
“Yes,” she said softly.
Chibuike smiled. “Get ready,” he said.
Muna quickly turned and went inside to change. Azuka stood there watching her leave, her face tightened. She said nothing, but her eyes followed every step. Inside the room, Azuka’s thoughts started to change again.
Muna came out later wearing simple but neat clothes. Chibuike opened the car door for her. She entered. Then he entered too. The driver started the car and they drove away.
Azuka stood outside the house watching the car leave. Her face was no longer just shocked. It was now mixed with something else. Jealousy.
Inside the car, the ride was quiet at first. Muna looked out the window. Many questions were in her mind, but she did not know where to start. Chibuike turned and looked at her. He smiled a little.
“I know you have questions,” he said. “You can ask me anything when we get there.”
Muna looked at him and stayed quiet. Soon the car stopped. They arrived at a beautiful restaurant. It looked expensive. Soft lights, clean tables, calm music. A worker opened the door for them.
As they walked in, Muna looked around slowly. Everything looked prepared. Their table was already set. She turned to Chibuike.
“Did you book this?” she asked quietly.
He smiled. “Yes,” he said.
They sat down as their food was served and started eating. For a while, they ate in silence. Then Muna finally spoke.
“Why didn’t you tell me who you are?” she asked. “And why were you working at the site yourself when you have engineers in your company?”
Chibuike placed his spoon down. He looked at her calmly.
“At first, I did not plan to work there myself,” he said. “The engineer in charge was making serious mistakes. It could have affected the whole building.”
He paused a little.
“But more than that, I love construction work. I studied civil engineering because I enjoy building things. That is why I went there myself. I wanted to be part of it.”
He looked down for a moment, then back at her.
“I’m sorry I did not tell you who I am.”
Muna listened carefully. Chibuike continued.
“We never really had time to talk properly. Every time we met, it was always short.”
Then he added, “And the way Azuka treated me that day made me think a lot. It showed me how people can treat others just because they think they are poor.”
He looked at Muna.
“But you were different. You never treated me badly. Even when I had cement stains on my clothes, you still spoke to me with respect. That made me see your heart.”
Muna stayed quiet for a moment. Then she said, “Being poor does not make someone less human.”
She looked at him.
“I saw you as a good man, respectful, calm, hardworking. That is why I got close to you.”
Chibuike smiled. Hearing that made him quiet for a moment. No one had spoken to him like that in a long time.
After they finished eating, they left the restaurant. They entered the car again.
“Let’s drive around the city,” Chibuike told the driver.
The car moved. The city lights passed slowly outside. Inside the car, they talked more and more. They laughed a little. They shared stories. Time passed without them noticing.
Then Chibuike became quiet. He looked at Muna.
“I need to tell you something,” he said softly.
Muna turned to him.
He continued, “I like you, Muna. I want us to be together.”
Muna froze. She looked at him carefully. She could see he was serious. No joke, no confusion. Just truth. Her heart beat slowly. Then she spoke.
“I like you too,” she said quietly. “I have liked you for a long time.”
Chibuike looked surprised. Muna smiled a little.
“I just did not know it was this strong.”
The tension between them broke. They moved closer and held each other. For a moment, everything felt calm.
Chibuike spoke again. “Will you be my girlfriend?”
Muna answered. “Yes.”
The car continued moving through the city, but everything had changed. 2 lives had quietly connected.
Later that night, Chibuike dropped Muna at her house. She stepped out of the car slowly. Before going in, she turned back.
“Thank you for today,” she said softly.
Chibuike smiled. “Don’t mention,” he replied.
The car drove away. Muna entered the house. Inside, Azuka was sitting. Her arms were folded. She had been waiting. Muna greeted her.
“Hi.”
Azuka did not reply. Her eyes followed Muna closely. She had seen the car. She had seen the smile, and she already knew something had changed. But she said nothing. Inside her mind, thoughts began to fight.
What if that was me?
He chose her.
Then her face slowly changed. The jealousy came back stronger. Her voice came out low.
“If I cannot have him,” she paused, “then no one can.”
Days passed. Chibuike and Muna became very close. Almost every evening after work, Chibuike would come to pick Muna up from the supermarket. Sometimes they would go out to eat. Sometimes he would take her to buy clothes. Other times they would just sit and talk for a long time before he drove her back home.
But unknown to Muna, Chibuike was planning something special for her. At the same time, Azuka was planning something very different.
One afternoon, Chibuike was in his office. He was working on his computer. Then he heard his phone buzz. A message came in. It was a voice message from an unknown number. He paused. For a moment, he thought of ignoring it, but he opened it anyway.
A voice came on.
