The Rise of Damola

Chapter 10- The engagement

As fate would have it, Bunmi had kept to her word and stayed in touch. So far, Damola was winning. She had started questioning her relationship and from the moment the first doubtful thought popped into her head, it was bound to get messy.

Three weeks had passed since her lunch with Damola and since then, they were constantly on the phone with one another, from text messages to voice calls to even video calls. The duo could not bear to stay away from one another and the people around them could attest for that. Every free time they had, they made sure to spend it enjoying each other's presence.

The last time they spoke, Bunmi had confided in Damola. She informed him that she was going to break off the engagement because she had finally had enough. The handsome CEO in turn finally summoned the courage to confess his feelings to her only to be met by more shocking news; she felt the same way.

They had both clarified that they were on the same page and Damola went on to ask her out on a second date. She had insisted that it was going to be their first official date but he was not having it. He gave her the option of choosing the venue but she declined.

"You are the one that knows all these places. Surprise me Damola," she said and that was exactly what he was going to do.

The second date was tonight. Damola had spoken to his friend Michael Ronalds, the owner of 'Diflako' and successfully reserved the rooftop for just the two of them for the night. He wanted everything to be perfect for what he had in mind. It was one of the fanciest restaurants in Lagos and the view from up there was breathtaking. He had wanted to propose to her tonight but had numerous questions nagging at him. He did not know whether she went through with the initial plan of calling the engagement off, if she would think the proposal was too soon or if she was going to say yes altogether.

As usual, he had shown up to the venue earlier than her. The rooftop had been transformed into something straight out of a fairy tale. Fairy tale lights hung from one end of the wall to the other with a few cascading down. There were numerous lanterns that had been arranged in two parallel lines from the door leading up to a table for two surrounded by votive candles in elegant clear glasses. The table itself was made of black oak and was complimented with pearl white chairs placed on top of a white Turkish rug with rose petals sprinkled on and around it. There was a big white bowl of red roses in the center of the table sandwiched by two red taper candles in single holders alongside rose petals, giving the rooftop a romantic ambience.

To the far right of the space, there was a poster bed adorned with white curtains and fairy lights that ran horizontally from one end to the other. The bed also had white vines that climbed the four wooden beams majestically. There were some rose petals forming a heart at the center of the bed along with the initials 'B+D=♾'. The bed itself was surrounded by white lanterns and white vases that held roses placed atop tall glass elevations. He had to give Michael points for the bed decorations because he did not see that coming and he was impressed.

The duo had agreed to meet at 8pm. Damola nervously checked his watch and the time was already 7:50pm meaning that Bunmi was going to walk through that door any minute from now. Damola readjusted his suit and placed the bouquet of roses he had bought on the way on the table, careful not to spoil the decorations. He checked his pocket once again to make sure the ring was still in its case when he remembered that he had given it to the waiter along with stern instructions.

At exactly 8:00 pm, the doors opened revealing Bunmi draped in an elegant red gown that accentuated her body in all the right places. It had a long slit that ran up her right leg and stopped at her thigh which she paired with sleek red heels. She looked like a goddess.

It was as if time had stopped moving. Damola tried to not look like a creep by staring too long but he was visibly losing the fight.

Bunmi's red lips curved into a wide smile as she took in the decoration while walking up to the table. He stood up and handed her the bouquet before pulling out a chair for her.